Steely TN eye Mumbai scalp

 A humdinger is in the offing when 41-time champions Mumbai meet a high-on-confidence Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semifinal here on Sunday.

Both teams go into the key clash following exciting victories in the quarterfinals.
Tamil Nadu thrashed Karnataka at Visakhapatnam with the game wrapped up in two days, while Mumbai dug deep to eke out a 30-run win against Hyderabad on the fifth and final day at Raipur.

Tamil Nadu’s performance under new head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been nothing short of commendable. The way they played against a star-studded Karnataka last week have taken their morale to the next level.

The two-time champions, who last got their hands on the Ranji Trophy 28 years ago, have reached this far without the services of star players Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay. They outplayed Karnataka, a side that was boosted by the return of Lokesh Rahul and Karun Nair, who had earlier been on national duty.

Mumbai start favourites, simply because of their unmatched record in the competition, but they would have to pull out all stops against their South Indian opponents.

The two sides had also met in the group stage in October when Mumbai pulled off a two-wicket win with the match at Lahli ending within three days.

However, a lot has changed for Mumbai since that game in October. The Lahli game saw their premier pacer Dhawal Kulkarni take 10 wickets but he is now injured alongside regular opener Akhil Herwadkar and Shubham Ranjane.

However, the fitness issues have given a chance to youngsters and a name that attracts instant attention is that of 17-year-old Prtihvi Shaw.

Shaw is best known for his 546 off 330 in a Harris Shield match in November 2013.
Mumbai’s leading run scorer this season has been Shreyas Iyer with 553 runs at an average of 42.53. It has been a mixed run for the top-order batsman and he would be itching to make it count in the all-important semifinal.

The leading wicket-taker has been left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil with 24 wickets at 22.04. He, alongside Abhishek Nayar, secured a tight win against Hyderabad by picking up five-wicket hauls. The defending champions would surely have to up their against Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu’s star performers with the bat have been Kaushik Gandhi and Mukund, with 726 and 689 runs respectively in nine matches.

The revelation has been their three-pronged pace attack comprising Aswin Crist, K Vignesh and T Natarajan, who have a cumulative experience of 38 First-Class games.

Keen contest in the offing
In what promises to be an enticing contest full of interesting sub-plots, Gujarat boasting of Ranji Trophy’s highest run-getter Priyank Panchal will be pitted against Jharkhand that has top wicket-taker Shahbaz Nadeem in their ranks in the semifinal in Nagpur.

While both teams are not exactly traditional heavyweights but they have performed consistently on neutral venues riding on some talented but unheralded name in domestic cricket.

Gujarat has had some powerhouse batting performers like Panchal who has scored more than 1100 runs this season. Not to forget opener Samit Gohil, whose 359 not out was a world record in first class cricket for an opener who carried his bat through.

And above all the ‘towering presence’ of pocket sized dynamo in their skipper Parthiv Patel, who needs less than 400 runs to complete 10,000 runs in first class cricket.
For Jharkhand, a lot will depend on how well left arm spinner Nadeem, who has 50 wickets already this season, bowls on Jamtha track.

Nadeem’ s discipline needs to be complemented by likes of Rahul Shukla.
Jharkhand’s batting depends a lot on young left-hander Ishan Kishan, leading the chart with 719 runs including a 273 against Delhi. His lusty hitting during the fourth innings chase in their quarterfinal tie against Haryana has certainly caught the attention of many.