Placed fifth in Group `C’ Ranji Trophy league with four points, Baroda has come with a young side to face the 41-time champion Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium.
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The home team is at near full strength with the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer. India’s classy top-order batsman, Rohit Sharma, though is absent from the line-up for its epic 500th Ranji Trophy match.
Ajinkya Rahane, who played in the away tie against Odisha recently, lends steel to the middle order. Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur are the other experienced players in the team. Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare can call on their services to test the resolve of Baroda, which will be led by the promising Deepak Hooda.
Although the visitor will be without seasoned campaigners like seamers Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan, the new faces in the squad will be eager to test themselves against a mighty rival.
READ: Mumbai 500 - From the eyes of the opposition
Tare was cautious while talking about the opposition. “Baroda have always been a good team. At the moment, they are a young side, but always dangerous. It is always difficult to play unknown faces.”
The 30-year-old Tare, delighted to lead in Mumbai in its 500th Ranji game on home turf, said: “We feel fortunate to be in the squad playing the 500th tie. There has been a huge contribution right from the inception of Mumbai cricket. It is going to be a special game for us.”
Mumbai has 10 points from three games and is placed third in the league behind Andhra (15 points) and Madhya Pradesh (14).
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Asked about the pressure of leading in a historic game, he quipped: "There is going to be a great vibe, but we are going to treat it as just another game of cricket. We want to win it and get maximum points. We are back at the Wankhede after a long time. It is great to be coming back to the dressing room on the home ground.”
Meanwhile, asked about the absence of Irfan and Yusuf Pathan and the pressure of leading a young side, Baroda kipper Hooda said, " I don’t know the reason (for their exclusion). It is the association (Baroda Cricket Association) that decides. There is no load as captain, I have been leading the team in patches.”
Teams (from)
Baroda: Deepak Hooda (captain), Swapnil Singh, Aditya Waghmode, Vishnu Solanki, Mitesh Patel, Atith Sheth, Sagar Mangalorkar, Rudresh Waghela, Vijay Halai, Lukman Meriwala, Abhijit Karambelkar, Jyotsnil Singh, Kartik Kadade, Noor Ahmed Pathan, Babakhan Pathan.Coach: Atul Bedade.
Mumbai: Aditya Tare (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Abhishek Nayar, Prithvi Shaw, Jay Bista, Shardul Thakur, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sufiyan Shaikh, Akash Parkar, Vijay Gohil, Aditya Dhumal, Royston Dias. Caoch: Sameer Dighe.
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