The last time the two teams met in a Ranji Trophy final, Mumbai beat Saurashtra by an innings and 125 runs in three days to lift the trophy for the 40th time back in 2012-13. As Mumbai pursue their 41st Ranji Trophy title, Saurashtra are searching for their first title and would be keen to reverse the results when they face-off in Pune from February 24th for the 2015-16 final.
Mumbai have at least five of those who played in the earlier final in the squad - Aditya Tare, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar. The Saurashtra side coached by the then opener, Shitanshu Kotak, is likely to have at least seven from last time's playing eleven - Sagar Jogiyani, Arpit Vasavada, Sheldon Jackson, Jaydev Shah, Kamlesh Makvana, Jaydev Unadkat and Dharmendra Jadeja in the squad while Shaurya Sanandia’s availability is in question due to injury.
Kulkarni was the leading wicket-taker for the Ajit Agarkar-led team in the all-important game with four wickets in the first innings and a five-for in the second. Nayar, who was the best all-rounder of the season then has made vital contributions to the team in the ongoing season. Thakur (33 wickets) has evolved as Mumbai’s leading wicket-taker for the last two seasons.
Mumbai's leading run-getters - Shreyas Iyer (1204 runs) and Akhil Herwadkar (879 runs) weren't even part of the squad while Suryakumar Yadav, who has held the lower-order together had, had a forgetful season in 2012-13. Tare, who was the second highest run-getter for the team in 2012-13 is now leading a young bunch of players in the finals. It is a formidable lineup that will be tested by the experienced - Unadkat (36 wickets and 296 runs with a highest score of 92) and off-spinner Makvana (33 wickets) along with left-arm spinner Dharmendra (27 wickets).
The Unadkat – Hardik Rathod (8 wickets in two matches) left-arm pace pair has troubled the opposition in the knockout games and need to be negotiated by the Mumbai lineup.
While Iyer has been setting the momentum with his breezy knocks, he displayed the ability to adapt to tricky situations in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh. The top-order batsman will be the one to lookout for. However, even if the opposition reins him, they could be punished by the likes of Yadav, Tare and Co. Herwadkar's steady milking of the opposition attacks has also bailed Mumbai out on occasion and provided stability from one end to build respectable totals.
While Saurhastra’s top-scorer, Sheldon has 525 runs to his credit, which is lower than Mumbai’s third highest scorer, Yadav (740 runs), their batting is strengthened by Cheteshwar Pujara. The solid top-order batsman’s well compiled century, his first of the season in the semi-final clash against Assam, was crucial in getting them another chance to go for the title.
While the experienced Jaydev Shah and Sagar Jogiyani (474) can present problems for Mumbai, the Saurashtra lower-order too has been among the runs in the ongoing season and can put up a stiff resistance.
While Thakur and Kulkarni have led the Mumbai attack in different conditions, Vishal Dabholkar too has consistently picked wickets and pushed the oppositions onto the back-foot. When handed the ball, Iqbal Abdullah (14 wickets in four matches) and Balwinder Sandhu (19 wickets in six matches) have also contributed to the team’s success, while part-timer Herwadkar too has chipped in with the red ball to help Mumbai.
Tare’s team hasn’t lost a single match in the season and had conceded the first innings’ lead only in their opening game against Andhra.
Saurashtra, who have cruised into the finals too have had a peachy season and are the only team to have posted five wins in the league phase of 2015-16 edition of the multi-day tournament. They started the season with a thumping win against Tripura and their only loss of the season was to Kerala.
