Ranji Trophy 2022: Mumbai up against fearless UP in semis

Ranji Trophy on a jaw-dropping 41 occasions is no mean feat. But when they take on Uttar Pradesh in the semifinals, Mumbai will be up against a team which is not just looking at carving out a niche for itself but playing a fearless brand of cricket. When the two teams face each other at the Just Cricket ground here starting on Tuesday, the Amol Muzumdar-coached side go into the contest on the back of a record-shattering 725-run quarterfinal win over Uttarakhand.

UP, led by a young Karan Sharma, cared little for their opposition's form or reputation, a point they proved against Karnataka in their last-8 tie. Having conceded the first innings lead, they battled to a five-wicket win in the quarterfinals. And, having come this far, they will be keen to go the distance.

Mumbai’s batting line-up can trouble the best of bowling units. For a team which bats deep, skipper Prithvi Shaw and Yashasvi Jaiswal open the innings with Armaan Jaffer and Suved Parkar coming in after them. All of them have at least one century to their name this season.

Sarfaraz Khan is on a roll with 704 runs in five innings which includes three centuries. Dhawal Kulkarni and Tushar Deshpande lend experience to Mumbai’s pace attack but the focus will be on spin duo Shams Mulani (37 wickets) and Tanush Kotian (15 wickets). UP will have to put everything on the line to overcome the resurgent Mumbai outfit.

The match will be played on a fresh pitch which is likely to aid pacers initially. That is good news for Ankit Rajpoot and his new-ball partner, left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal, who have done well in the tournament. The hard deck with variable bounce is expected to turn by the third day.