Flying high on the blazing form of their leading batsman Sarfaraz Khan, and their leading bowler Shams Mulani, Mumbai - in search of their title No 42 - will look to pick up the momentum in the knockouts post a three-month break, when they take on 'underdogs' Uttarakhand in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Alur cricket stadium near Bengaluru from Monday.
With 551 runs in three games@137. 75, including a top score of 275 against Saurashtra and two hundreds, Sarfaraz is the third highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy this season, and the highest in the Elite group. The 24-year-old will no doubt be doubly fired up after the inclusion of his younger brother Musheer Khan, who received his maiden Mumbai call-up, in the side.
Having taken 29 wickets in three games@15.62, including four five-wicket hauls, Mulani is the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy after the first half. To add to it, the 25-year-old has scored a couple of half-centuries too. Enjoying a sensational run at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the left-arm spinner recorded as many as nine five-wicket hauls in just six games while taking 59 wickets -30 of them in the three knockout games of the Col CK Nayudu Trophy.
In a league stage game against Goa, Mumbai looked in trouble when they were shot out for just 163 in the first innings and conceded a 167-run lead, but the youngster's 11 for 167 match haul and a 50-run knock, during which he shared a match-turning partnership with allrounder Tanush Kotian (98) helped his team score a magnificent 119-run comeback win.
His 11 for 169 in the opening game almost took Mumbai to a win over Saurashtra, who escaped with a draw as their final pair survived the final hour of the match. He didn't get to play a game at the league stage, but, following a decent IPL for the Rajasthan Royals (258 runs in 10 games@25. 80, two fifties), Yashasvi Jaiswal should be opening the innings with skipper Prithvi Shaw.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand captain Jay Bista, a former Mumbai opener, rued the fact that his team's run to the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals was hardly covered by the media, which he felt was only inquiring about his side now that they were playing a team like Mumbai.
"Nobody paid attention to our team's performances in the league stage. We scored outright wins with bonus points, but no one (media) wrote anything. Obviously, now that we are playing Mumbai, we're getting so much attention. This thing, obviously, hurts me," Bista told TOI from Bangalore.
Uttarakhand beat Services (by nine wickets), Rajasthan (by 299 runs), while losing to Andhra (by eight wickets) in the league stage in Kerala.
