Depleted Mumbai up against Karnataka in Vijay Hazare quarters

BENGALURU: During the league stage of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the spotlight was largely on superstars turning out for their respective state teams ahead of the New Zealand series and a slew of big hundreds across sides. With the stars now back on national duty, attention shifts to the domestic regulars as the tournament moves into the knockout phase.The quarterfinals get underway at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Monday, with the marquee clash featuring heavyweights Mumbai and defending champions Karnataka. The other quarterfinal will see Saurashtra take on Uttar Pradesh.Given the indifferent bowling performances of both Mumbai and Group A toppers Karnataka through the league phase, the batting lineups will be the cynosure. Karnataka boast of a formidable top-order, led by the red-hot Devdutt Padikkal and in-form skipper Mayank Agarwal at the top. While Padikkal is the tournament’s leading run-getter with 640 runs and Mayank chipped in with 399, the onus will be on the rest of the batting unit to step up. R Smaran, Karun Nair and KL Shrijith — all proven performers — blew hot and cold so far, while the team management will be seeking greater consistency from the big-hitting Abhinav Manohar.Mumbai face a significant reshuffle. Stand-in skipper Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav are unavailable owing to national commitments, while regular captain Shardul Thakur is sidelined with injury. Siddesh Lad will lead the side, and the experienced campaigner will have to marshal his resources astutely.