Toss: Mumbai chose to field v Saurashtra
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dhawal Kulkarni was brought back into Mumbai’s side for Badre Alam © BCCI
Aditya Tare called right as Mumbai opted to field in the Ranji Trophy final against Mumbai in Pune. In direct acknowledgment of the surface prepared at the MCA Stadium, both teams boosted their seam bowling stocks.
Mumbai made just one change to the side that outbatted Madhya Pradesh in Cuttack, with Dhawal Kulkarni replacing Badre Alam. Saurashtra handed a debut to Prerak Mankad, the seam-bowling allrounder, to complete a four-man seam attack also comprising Jaydev Unadkat, Hardik Rathod and Deepak Punia. That means there was no place for Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the left-arm spinner.
Jaydev Shah, the Saurashtra captain, said the team was buoyed by their result in the semi-final, but insisted they won’t be overawed by Mumbai’s big-match temperament. “Getting here is a very big thing for us,” he said. “We were relegated last year, but to have bounced back from there to reach the final is a good sign. Mumbai will be a tough team but we aren’t focusing on individuals in their team.”
Aditya Tare, Shah’s Mumbai counterpart, welcomed Kulkarni’s return. The pacer, who missed the semifinal because of a groin strain, picked up a nine-wicket haul the last time the two sides met in the final three years ago. “He brings experience. He has played a lot of finals he has done lot for Mumbai, he’s a match-winner,” Tare said. “So having him in our ranks is a good thing for us before the final.”
Saurashtra have never beaten Mumbai in 53 previous attempts. This is the first time both sides are playing at a neutral venue.
Mumbai: 1 Akhil Herwadkar, 2 Bhavin Thakkar, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Aditya Tare (capt & wk), 6 Siddhesh Lad, 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Balwinder Sandhu, 9 Iqbal Abdulla, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shardul Thakur.
Saurashtra: 1 Avi Barot, 2 Sagar Jogiyani (wk), 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Arpit Vasavada, 5 Sheldon Jackson, 6 Jaydev Shah (capt), 7 Chirag Jani, 8 Jaydev Unadkat, 9 Deepak Punia, 10 Prerak Mankad, 11 Hardik Rathod.
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo