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Mumbai has a score to settle

G. Viswanath

— PTI

Ramesh Powar seen at practice.

Ahmedabad: Mumbai would take the field against Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here from Friday knowing fully well that it was the same opponent which stopped it from reaching the knock-out stage last year.

On a bone-chilling day at Dharamsala 12 months ago, Ajay Mannu, who was dismissed for a fourth ball duck in the first innings, returned at the No. 7 spot in the second innings and notched up his first century in Ranji Trophy to shatter Mumbai’s hopes of taking full points from the match. Paras Dogra played perfect foil while making a half-century.

Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer still remembers the encounter. “We spoke about it last night (Wednesday). We respect Himachal Pradesh as a team and cannot afford to take any team lightly. We will be on our toes,” said Jaffer.

The Mumbai middle-order is a mix of solidity and sparkle. Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Amol Muzumdar — all vital assets — would be followed by Abhishek Nayar. Struck by dengue, Nayar returned to action only in the last match against Punjab.

Five bowlers

Jaffer’s policy that five specialist bowlers are required to win a Ranji match has been backed by the selectors and coach Praveen Amre. He has placed his trust on Ajit Agarkar (back in the team after recovering from a bug), Dhawal Kulkarni (32 wickets), rookie left-arm seamer Rahil Shaikh, and spinners Ramesh Powar and Sairaj Bahutule for this game.

Himachal Pradesh, which has not fielded more than 14 players this season, has thrived on the batting displays of Sangram Singh (632 runs) and the bowling deeds of seamer Vikramjeet Singh Malik (33 wickets). Skipper Ashok Thakur has chipped in with 29 wickets.

The team has also benefited by the knowledge and on-field performances from former Mumbai batsmen Bhavin Thakkar (586 runs) and Vineet Indulkar (314).

Curator Dhiraj Parsana, was as usual confident that the Motera pitch would be a sporting one.

The teams: Mumbai: Wasim Jaffer (Capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, Amol Muzumdar, Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Vinayak Samant, Ajit Agarkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahil Shaikh, Ramesh Powar and Sairaj Bahutule.

Himachal Pradesh (from): Ashok Thakur (Capt.), Sangram Singh, Bhavin Thakkar, Vineet Indulkar, Vikramjeet Malik, Sarandeep Singh, Mohinderraj Sharma, Paras Dogra, V. Bhatia, R. Saini, Mukesh Sharma, Ajay Mannu, M. Gupta and J. Mehta.

Umpires: Shavir Tarapore and Sanjeev Rao; Match referee: Sunil Chaturvedi.

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