Mumbai begin favourites against Jharkhand in quarterfinals

It is red-ball cricket again after a two-month gap. The Ranji Trophy quarterfinals begin at four centres on Wednesday with 40-time champions Mumbai hot favourites against promoted Jharkhand at the Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wadiyar Ground, Mysuru.

In a diversion from the regular, Ranji Trophy took a break for two months to accommodate the limited-overs competitions in the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) domestic calendar — Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-overs), Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and Deodhar Trophy (50 overs).

With the white-ball cricket done and dusted, the premier domestic tournament takes centre stage, though the players will take time to get used to the change in format.

Mumbai are no different. Having topped Group B with four wins, the Aditya Tare-led side were seeking to continue the Ranji Trophy momentum into the intervening two months so that their players were in form for the business end of the first-class competition.

While Mumbai failed to advance beyond the league stage in Vijay Hazare, they made it to the Super League of the Mushtaq Ali T20 while their key players Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur featured in the assorted Deodhar Trophy teams.

Coach Chandrakant Pandit told dna from Mysuru: "The important thing was that the team was together during the limited-overs competitions. It will take time to come back to the longer format. After a long gap, to be playing Ranji Trophy, the boys will have to work hard to have that (winning) momentum from the league phase."

The former Indian wicketkeeper added: "The approach to the five-day game will be different and the players have to adapt quickly from the one-day format. Even within the Ranji Trophy, playing an extra day in the knockouts as compared to the league will require a different mindset. There is a lot of difference in playing four-day and five-day.

"The batsmen have to bat for that much extra day longer and for bowlers, it is extra 90 days. One has to be very very smart in playing five-day cricket."

All eyes will be on this season's highest rungetter, Shreyas Iyer (930 runs at 71.53) while left-handed opening batsman Akhil Herwadkar played catch-up game after a slow start to stand sixth in the list with 741 runs (average 57.00).

Perhaps, making things that much easier for Mumbai is the confidence that they not only take from the league stage but also from the fact that they are back at a venue where they won that thrilling final, beating Karnataka by six runs for their 39th title in 2009-10.

Pandit did not want to take Jharkhand lightly. "Nobody can think (lightly) about the names of the teams. Every team in the knock-outs is on the same platform."

Pandit said that his players have done well to adapt from limited-overs to Ranji Trophy. "They have been playing three-day cricket in Mumbai. They also had three good days of practice in Mysuru. The confidence from the league phase will be at the back of the players' minds."

The quarterfinal will also see the return of left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar, who was reported for suspect action during the league stage and was left out of the XI in Mumbai's last game against Gujarat in December first week.

Pandit reckoned that the pitch will assist spin and "obviously Dabholkar returns to the XI."

In the other quarterfinals, Vidarbha take on Saurashtra in Vizianagaram, Assam lock horns with Punjab in Valsad and Bengal, coached by Mumbai's Sairaj Bahutule, will face Madhya Pradesh at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Playing today (quarterfinals)
Vidarbha vs Saurashtra in Vizianagaram
Assam vs Punjab in Valsad
Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh in Mumbai (Brabourne Stadium, Live on Star Sports 2, 9.30am)
Mumbai vs Jharkhand in Mysuru