High on confidence after a fine start to their campaign which fetched them seven points, Punjab would be keen to put hosts Mumbai under the pump in their Group B second round Ranji Trophy encounter commencing at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab go into the game after an innings victory at home over Railways that came about after a strong all round show with their batsmen mustering over 600 runs and their bowlers backing up well.
Four centuries, including an unbeaten 201 by Gurkeerat Singh Mann who is not available for this game after being selected for the India ODI squad to take on South Africa from October 11, set up the huge total for Punjab.
Their varied bowling attack led by two left-arm bowlers -- pacer Barinder Singh Sran (6 wickets) in the first innings and spinner Varun Khanna (8 wickets) in the second -- dismissed Railways cheaply in both the innings at Mohali to deliver the knockout blow.
While praising his batting unit, Yuvraj singled out Barinder Singh as the one to watch out for.
"Batsmen have been playing for a while now. Manan (Vohra), Mandeep Singh, Jiwanjot Singh - these guys have been doing well for a while - but our biggest strength has been Barinder Singh this year. He bowled really well (in the) last game, real quick," said Yuvraj.
"I see a very good bowling side and I see a unit who are capable of winning the Ranji Trophy," the left-handed batsman said ahead of the game against Mumbai.
Yuvraj conceded that Gurkeerat would be missed, but said he is happy the young batsman "has gone where he deserves to be".
Hosts Mumbai, on the other hand, have made a shaky start to their campaign as they conceded the first innings lead to Andhra for the first time in history in their first round away game at Vizianagaram - after being unable to overhaul a modest total of 244 set up by the hosts by eight runs.
Asked whether he had nurtured an idea to quit the game altogether, Yuvraj paused for some time and said, "You have your moments in life where games are disappointing and they don't go your way.
"But as I said, what do you play cricket for? You play your cricket just to enjoy the game. So, as long as I am doing that - whether it's domestic or internationals - which is the main part, am always looking forward to do that and win for the team."
He also welcomed Tendulkar's new venture to take T20 cricket to the US through a series of games featuring himself and fellow cricket legends like Shane Warne and Brian Lara.
"It's great. Sachin has taken cricket to other parts of the world. I am sure there are a lot of people from Asia who play over there. It's an opportunity for them to play there and meet Sachin. So, I think it's a great thing for cricket."
Image: Yuvraj Singh
