Shreyas Iyer will be keen to prove a point as he gets back to domestic action when 41-time champions Mumbai take on Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semi-final at BKC here on Saturday.
Dropped from the Test squad and discarded from BCCI’s list of contracted players after he did not make himself available for the Ranji Trophy quarter-final, Iyer’s presence will boost Mumbai’s chances in the key clash.
Iyer is expected to take on Tamil Nadu’s quality spin bowling, which has been one of their key weapons this season.
Skipper R. Sai Kishore (47 wickets) and fellow left-arm spinner S. Ajith Ram (41) are perched atop the list of highest wicket-takers, against whom he will have a great opportunity to make a strong statement.
The semi-final promises to be an enthralling battle
between Tamil Nadu’s persistent and disciplined bowlers and their batters who have piled up big runs this season versus Mumbai’s all-round strength.
None of the Mumbai bowlers has even made it to the top-10 in the list of wicket-takers — Mohit Avasthi (32) is at 13th — yet they find themselves in the final four because their bowlers have shared the workload quite well.
Both Mumbai and Tamil Nadu are coming off impressive wins in the quarter finals. Both teams have lost only one match each.
Young Musheer Khan’s unbeaten 203 allowed Mumbai a slender lead which swelled courtesy a historic show
from tail-enders Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande against Baroda.
In the other semi-final in Nagpur, Vidarbha will take on Madhya Pradesh.
Today’s play: Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu, live on Sports 18 & JioCinema from 9.30am.