Vidarbha set for historic date with Mumbai

MUMBAI: Now that the tier system in the Ranji Trophy has been abolished, it has given teams like Vidarbha a chance to lock horns with domestic powerhouses Mumbai. It might seem like a David vs Goliath contest, but the fact that Vidarbha are playing against Mumbai for the first time is enough to get their players excited.
Mumbai certainly are favourites but Vidarbha, led by Shalabh Srivastava, aren't the underdogs they used to be during the zonal system where they would repeatedly keep playing UP, MP, Railways and Services and struggle to qualify for the knockouts.
Of late, Vidarbha has thrown up promising players and with paceman Umesh Yadav spearheading their bowling, they would look to pack a punch. Complimenting the opposition, Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said that no first-class opposition should be taken lightly.
"One should never underestimate any first-class team. Besides, Vidarbha have been doing very well this season. They scored an outright win against Haryana and their captain scored 193 in their last match against Karnataka and the team made 542 which speaks highly of them," said Kulkarni.
As someone who played for Vidarbha himself and coached them too, Kulkarni said knowing the players was good, but they have taken flight of late. "I know most of them but they all have improved a lot in the last few years. Also their new coach Sairaj Bahutule has brought in a lot of experience. I think we are in for a very good game."
Vidarbha has variety both in their batting and bowling. Their southpaw opener Faiz Fazal, who also played for India U-19 earlier, has been in blazing form registering the most number of centuries (six) for Vidarbha in the last league match against Karnataka.
Coach Bahutule (a former Mumbai Ranji Trophy winning captain) himself is however disappointed with his team's campaign thus far (8 points from 4 games). "I'm disappointed . In the last game vs Karnataka , we scored 542, but still couldn't take the lead due to a little indiscipline from the bowlers. After four games, we have won one and are placed in mid-table . With four big matches coming up – Punjab, Delhi and Jharkhand to follow this – I think if we concentrate on our game, we will do well," he said.
The hosts have heavyweights in Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar besides captain Zaheer Khan. It'll be interesting to see if Mumbai choose to field the 6'5" tall left-arm pacer Akbar Khan, who just made the team, alongside Zaheer.
Kulkarni termed the pitch "a sporting track" and as such there should be a lot on offer for both the batsmen and bowlers in ideal cricketing conditions.