Ranji Trophy 2013-14 Final: Karnataka vs Maharashtra Preview

Ranji Trophy 2013-14 Final: Karnataka vs Maharashtra

Karnataka and Maharashtra will be playing against each other for the first time in Ranji Trophy finals. They have played in the semifinals and quarterfinals of Ranji Trophy on 1970-71 and 1975-1976 respectively.

Vinay Kumar will lead the pace attack of Karnataka. With the bat, it’s Lokesh Rahul,  who has been the leading scorer for Karnataka and the third run scorer in Ranji Trophy with 963 runs. Manish Pandey has an average over 60 this season as well. Karun Nair is also on fine touch after that fighting hundred against Punjab on a seaming track.

Kedar Jadhav and Harshad Khadiwale of Maharashtra are the top two run scorers of Ranji Trophy with 1074 runs and 1009 runs respectively.

In the bowling department, none of the players from both teams are in the list, but the current form is clearly with Maharashtra, because of the performance Samad Fallah and Anupam Sanklecha put in the knockouts.

The pitch report says it is quite dry, with just a bit of moisture to hold it together. With the sun beating down on a dry surface, there could be some reverse swing as well. Bat first would be the ideal strategy but anything less than 600, teams have chased them down. Both teams are equal in seam and batting departments, but on spin Maharashtra might have the edge.