Formidable Mumbai Firm Favourites Against Haryana In Ranji Trophy Quarterfinals

Title contenders and defending champions Mumbai will have both form and pedigree on their side when they take on a spirited Haryana outfit that is seeking to prove a point in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal starting in Kolkata from Saturday. The shifting of the match to the iconic Eden Gardens from Lahli, Haryana's home venue, has affected the travel plans of both the teams, especially the hosts since the BCCI has not officially provided them any reason for the switch.

While Haryana will not enjoy the advantage of playing in the familiar environs of the Bansi Lal Stadium, Mumbai are too professional a side to take any team lightly, more so in a knockout game of the country's premier domestic tournament which they have won an unprecedented 42 times.

As they brace up to take on a formidable opponent, Haryana would not like to read much into the shifting of their home match to a neutral venue, and would rather focus on the job at hand.

With India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and big-hitting all-rounder Shivam Dube joining an already strong and settled Mumbai team, Haryana know they will have their task cut out over what promises to be four days of intense battle.

Mumbai will not be short on confidence having registered their biggest win -- by an innings and 456 runs -- against Meghalaya in their last group match to qualify for the knockouts.

It won't be an exaggeration to say that Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane has too many resources at his disposal and zeroing in on the playing XI is not going to be an easy task for the seasoned leader.

Mumbai had three centurions in Siddhesh Lad, Akash Anand and Shams Mulani with Rahane himself making 96 in their previous game and it will be interesting to see who are the two players