The last time Uttar Pradesh made it to the Ranji Trophy semifinals, captain Karan Sharma, who is four months shy of turning 24, was not even a teenager and none of its existing squad members were in contention to break into its senior squad. If that makes you wonder whether its semifinal against Mumbai is going to be lopsided in favour of the 41-time champion, think again.
Despite Mumbai’s legacy and an in-form team, the current squad lacks the experience of a high-pressure match. Only two if its existing members - captain Prithvi Shaw and veteran pacer Dhawal Kulkarni - have featured in a Ranji semifinal.
Ergo based on current form and similar big-match experience, it will be a clash between equals at the Just Cricket Academy (JCA). And both units heaved a sigh of relief after looking at the 22-yard strip on Monday.
Contrary to the belter that the adjoining strip turned out to be during Bengal’s run-feast versus Jharkhand in last week’s quarterfinal, the centre-strip at JCA has a decent amount of grass cover, which will elate the pace attack of both sides.
Nod for Mohsin?
In fact, Uttar Pradesh will be tempted to draft in Mohsin Khan. The left-arm spinner, who was one of the finds of the IPL, has been added to the squad ahead of the semifinal. It will be interesting to see if he is preferred over Shivam Mavi, who bowled just two overs in Karnataka’s second innings in the quarterfinals.
Irrespective of its composition, the UP pace attack’s duel versus Mumbai’s in-form batting unit may seal the fate of the game. Each of Mumbai’s top seven batters scored a fifty during its record win against Uttarakhand last week. Even though Hardik Tamore will replace Aditya Tare as the wicketkeeper-batter for the semifinal, the batting line-up appears to be intimidating.
Sarfaraz Khan, who hit an unbeaten 301 the last time these two teams faced each other, has plundered more than 700 runs in just five innings this season and will be eager to make it big against his former team. Shaw is due for a big knock, with just two fifties in the season so far.
