Mumbai take on Delhi in a high profile Ranji clash in Mumbai

Mumbai will be hoping for a good show from both Wasim Jaffer and Dhawal Kulkarni

Few hours from now, while the cricketing world will be busy watching the little master, Sachin Tendulkar, walk out the Wankhede dressing room for the last time in India colours, three of his team-mates, or more so his close friends who have been with him for almost a decade via. Zaheer Khan, Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, will take the field in suburban Mumbai – at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra Kurla Complex – as two of the heavy weights in the Indian domestic circuit, Mumbai and Delhi, go head-to-head in the second game of the 2013-14 StarSports Ranji Trophy.

Though missing Tendulkar’s farewell game, owing to their bad run in the game, might be a disappointing factor for the stalwarts of Indian cricket, the trio will be more focused on making the most of an opportunity to impress the selectors in the high-profile group game.

The players have been trying hard to get into the thick of international action ever since they were sidelined by the national selectors due to various reasons. The Delhi opening pair of Sehwag and captain Gambhir seem to be running out of time and excuse to make a case to be a part of the team, which will travel to South Africa for an extended tour later this year, as ever since Shikar Dhawan and Murli Vijay have opened the Indian test innings, the once reliable Delhi duo have failed to put on big runs in the limited opportunities on the domestic circuit. On the other hand, the man who will lead the Mumbaikars in their first hoe game of the season, Zaheer Khan, will look to continue his game from where he left in Punjab against the home team.

Though all the eyes could be on these three prolific cricketers, one cannot rule out the quality the two teams will bring into this game. For Delhi, besides Sehwag and Gambhir, the batting line can also boast about the young prodigy Unmukt Chand, the run-machine Mithun Manhas, and one of the top contenders for the best all-rounder’s of the season, Rajat Bhatia.

On the bowling front, the travelling team will rely heavily on their experienced pacer Ashish Nehara, who is returning after an injury lay-off, to make the red cherry do all the talking along with Parvinder Awana and Sumit Narwal.

This might be one of the reasons why the Mumbai coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni was not willing to overlook Delhi even though Mumbai come into this on back of two outright victories over Haryana and Punjab away from home. Though he believes that the home advantage could come into play for the Mumbaikars, the experienced coach is well aware that even a slightest slip-up could cost his team dearly.

Mumbai’s batting, in the absence of Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, will once again depend on the ever-reliable Wasim Jaffer, who struck his 33rd Ranji ton against Punjab last week, with the likes of Abhishek Nayar and Kaustubh Pawar playing the anchor role. The blowing will be sphere-headed by Zaheer Khan, while on the other hand, Dhawal Kulkarni will hope to celebrate his inclusion in the national ODI squad with a big and noteworthy contribution.