While defending champions Karnataka are perched at the top of the Group A points table, Mumbai who are placed fourth in the table and a point behind Baroda, will have to register an outright win to hope for a place in the quarter-finals. And even after that, the result of all the four matches of the group in the eighth round will have a bearing on Mumbai’s chances of qualifying for the next phase.
Nevertheless the young Mumbai side have shown their vigour and kept themselves afloat with away wins in the tournament. Their last victory came in the previous round against Baroda which has given them a chance to make a bid for the knockout phase.
While speaking to the media after practice at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai captain Aditya Tare said that the team will draw on the confidence of their win against Baroda when they take on Karnataka in the last league game. “We know it’s a must win game. We are preparing well. The guys are confident. A winning dressing room is a different dressing room all together. It was a much needed win against Baroda and it gave us the momentum.”
Having won the game without any seniors has boosted the confidence of the young players. “We went in to the game (against Baroda) a bit more confident. We were without the seniors and the win was crucial for us. It is a credit to the guys. We were all youngsters who played that game and it will give confidence while going into this game,” said Tare. However, the side will now be strengthened by the inclusion of Abhishek Nayar who is fit and back in the side. “Nayar brings experience into the team. He has won a lot of games for Mumbai, so that’s a help.” The side has been sweating it out at the stadium ahead of the match.
While the Tare-led squad is raring to give it their all in an effort to qualify for the next round, Karnataka too are looking at the game as preparation for the next phase and keen to win. “We are treating this as a pre-quarter final game and will try to give our best and win the game. One game before the knock-outs we want to get our team combination right and perform,” said Karnataka captain, Vinay Kumar.
“Playing at the Wankhede Stadium in itself is a great opportunity for most of the players and playing against Mumbai and performing against Mumbai is treated as a special thing,” he added speaking ahead of the game. The team from south has been performing consistently since the previous season when they won trophies across formats. Asked about the reason for the team’s consistent performance, he said, “It’s a mixture of factors. The same bunch of players are playing and most of them have a minimum of four to five years of experience. Although they are young, but at the same time they are experienced enough to perform at this level and everyone wants to play at the higher level. Their goal is to play for India. When you think about the higher goals, small things will take care of themselves and most of them are fit that is the plus point.”
“We are not thinking much about the opposition. We are taking one game at a time and try to perform at our best. That’s the biggest plus point because when you stop thinking about the opposition you try to give your best,” Vinay added.
Shreyas Gopal is one of the youngsters whose performance with the bat has stood out this season. Speaking about the player, the Karnataka skipper said, “Shreyas Gopal has been doing well for us both in the batting and bowling department. We had brought him in the team as a bowler and he is performing really well with the bat as well. It is a good boost for us in the lower middle-order. He and CM Gautam have bailed us from tough situations which is a plus point having him in the team.”
The side are further strengthened by the return of Lokesh Rahul. “Rahul is a youngster and he is in his third or fourth year, made his Test debut and got a hundred in Australia so after that he came back and created history scoring a triple-century. He is performing really well and it will be healthy competition between Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Robin Uthappa and others. All take it in a positive way and match his performance,” he said while speaking about the top-order batsman.
Mumbai too have a Shreyas (Iyer) amongst their ranks who has created waves in this debut season and played a vital role along with Shardul Thakur in bailing the side out. While Tare lauded the duo’s contribution, he also acknowledged the performance of Siddhesh Lad and Suryakumar Yadav who have played complimentary roles in keeping the side in the reckoning.
When they take on Karnataka on Friday, Mumbai who have not been able to capitalise on the home advantage so far this season will be looking to do that. “Every team has taken advantage at home but we haven’t won at home. We have played only two games here, this will be our third. We want to do well at home. Although things didn’t go our way in the previous games we look to turn things around,” Tare said.
