Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Mumbai hunts for win on the road against spirited Tripura without key first-team stars

With Mumbai sitting fourth in the standings with six points, it will be keener for a result against second-placed Tripura, which the 42-time champion beat by 10 wickets when the two last met.

Mumbai, led by Ajinkya Rahane, comes into the match without a host of its stars, including Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu

After a chastening defeat to Baroda, followed by a morale-boosting triumph in the State derby against Maharashtra, defending champion Mumbai will have to contend with the absence of a host of its stars as it takes on a spirited Tripura at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium here from Saturday.

Prithvi Shaw (omitted), Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer (personal reasons), and all-rounder Tanush Kotian (India ‘A’ duty) will miss the Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy encounter, while Musheer Khan continues his recovery from a neck injury he sustained in a car accident last month.

Mumbai called up Akhil Herwadkar, who will vie for the opener’s spot with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, alongside the prodigious talent of 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who is coming off a 176-run marathon knock.

Kotian could be replaced by left-arm spinner Karsh Kothari, who last played a First-Class match in 2018, though off-spinner Himanshu Singh is a like-for-like option.

Meanwhile, Siddhesh Lad and Suryansh Shedge will likely be tasked with filling the large shoes of the Shreyas-Suryakumar duo, and skipper Ajinkya Rahane will be keen on converting starts.

Though Mumbai largely banks on its homegrown talent, a troika of ‘guest’ players will lead Tripura’s challenge at home. Skipper Mandeep Singh, Jiwanjot Singh and Srinivas Sharath lend stability to the host’s batting unit, even as seam-bowling all-rounder Manisankar Murasingh, coming off an 11-wicket haul and a 60-run knock in Tripura’s innings-win over Meghalaya, will be a match for Shardul Thakur.

There will be an interesting family subplot too as the 27-year-old southpaw Tejasvi Jaiswal would want to replicate his younger sibling Yashasvi’s heroics after scoring 13 on debut for Tripura at No. 3.

The season’s first contest at this venue was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain, but clear blue skies on match eve signalled a repeat was unlikely.

With Mumbai sitting fourth in the standings with six points, it will be keener for a result against second-placed Tripura, which the 42-time champion beat by 10 wickets when the two last met.