Mumbai -Tamil Nadu tie under cloud

Rains ruled out play on Day One of the sixth round Ranji Trophy Super League tie between hosts Tamil Nadu and defending champions Mumbai at the India Cements ground in Chennai on Wednesday.

Heavy downpour overnight left the outfield wet and the umpires, who did the final inspection at 3.10 pm, decided to call it a day without any play.

Mumbai, the league leaders with 20 points and two wins, have already made it to the quarterfinals and are keen to test their bench strength.

However, it is a crucial tie for Tamil Nadu, who have 11 points with one win and are third in the points table. The hosts, desperately looking for their second victory, had to split points with Bengal in their last match as almost three days of the play were washed out. Only one and a half day’s play was possible and the match ended in a draw at the same ground last week.

Tamil Nadu may face a similar situation in this match as the MET department has predicted rains over the next three days.
Meanwhile, two young Mumbai players — batsman Suryakumar Yadav and medium pacer Aquib Shaikh — picked for this game were replaced by Siddharth Chitnis and Murtuza Hussain.

Both Yadav and Shaikh have been asked by Mumbai Cricket Association to represent the team in the U-22 Col CK Nayudu Tournament final to be played against Baroda from December 10 at the BKC ground in Mumbai.