After a successful outing against Baroda in its opening Ranji Trophy match almost two weeks ago, Mumbai is all set for its first home match, against Railways, at the Wankhede Stadium from Wednesday.
Thanks to spectacular hitting by Prithvi Shaw, captain Suryakumar Yadav’s knock in the second innings and a splendid bowling effort by left-arm spinner Shams Mulani — 10 wickets in the match — Mumbai won six points to start its campaign on a very bright note. Mumbai posted 400 plus totals in both innings.
For the second match, the team has been strengthened by the return of middle-order batsman Siddhesh Lad, who missed the Baroda match because of his wedding.
Suryakumar said: “The boys are very positive. We got a small break and regrouped a week back.”
Also, Ajinkya Rahane will be playing back-to-back matches for the first time in three seasons. While Rahane’s presence gives stability to the middle-order, Mumbai will miss Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube, who have been rested.
Mumbai, though, will have the services of medium-pacer Shardul Thakur, who was on National duty in the series against the West Indies.
The 41-time champion has also brought in a bowling coach in Pradeep Sundaram, previously assigned to the MCA Academy.
Karn hopeful
Karn Sharma, who has returned to Railways after a two-year gap, said his team was doing well despite limitations.
“We had a bad game (against Saurashtra), but we won't think about that. We will focus on the match against Mumbai. The wicket at the Wankhede is good.”
