The Ranji Trophy 2018/19 season hasn’t been a bed of roses for Mumbai as they are yet to register their first victory of the season. The 41-time champions are struggling to find their rhythm and have been facing a lack of experienced players and senior players who have received the national call. Adding to the woes of the team, pacer Dhawal Kulkarni was dropped from the playing XI for the match against Saurashtra.
Earlier, the right-arm fast bowler was picked in the squad and was expected to make his comeback for Mumbai. However, during the practice session on Friday, the bowler was unable to give his 100 per cent and therefore, was rested for the match against the current table-toppers.
The hosts are currently struggling to stay in the race for a berth in the quarter-finals. Currently, Mumbai is placed in the 13th spot in the combined Group A and Group B points table with eight points to their account. And only the top five teams from the combined table will be qualified to make it to the last eight.
However, on Saturday, December 22, the visitors won the toss and decided to bowl first. While Saurashtra looked to break the Mumbai batting line-up, Jay Bista and Vikrant Auti stitched an opening partnership of 148 runs with a century from Bista who was playing at 115 not out post lunch.
Therefore, as Mumbai have received a strong start, they will now look forward to facing the visitors with an aggressive approach and look forward to maintaining themselves in the race to the quarter-finals.
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