Ranji Trophy final: Mumbai win toss, opt to bat against Madhya Pradesh – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Mumbai have decided to bat against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final that got underway on Wednesday. Prithvi Shaw, the Mumbai skipper, made the right call at the toss at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Shaw and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting for Mumbai and took on the Madhya Pradesh bowling despite a swinging ball and cloudy conditions. Shaw started slowly against pace but gathered momentum against the spin taking on Kumar Kartikeya with a four and a six.

Madhya Pradesh lineup doesn’t include experienced seamer Puneet Datey who has been left out. Taking his place is debutant Parth Sahani. MP are playing three spinners, two of them left-arm orthodox in Parth Sahani and Kumar Kartikeya. Mumbai, on their part, have two spinners in Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian.

Mumbai are seeking their 42nd Ranji Trophy title and first since 2016 against MP who are aiming their first. Last time MP reached the final was in the 1998-99 season. Mumbai, on the other hand, have won 41 of their 46 finals.

“It’s an honour to lead Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Five years ago when we reached the final, he [Chandrakant Pandit] was our coach and now playing against his team will be a challenge. I made my debut in that season and now I want to bring that trophy home,” said Shaw a day prior to the final.

“It was good to see him after a long time. He has done well with Madhya Pradesh and I would like to congratulate him and his team. We spoke only for a couple of minutes. I guess we both are trying to get into the zone before the final,” he added.

Sarfaraz Khan is Mumbai’s leading run-getter this season with 803 runs at an average of 133.83. On the bowling front, Shams Mulani has bagged the most wickets.

Shaw’s individual performances haven’t been great this season. In five matches, he has scored mere 264 runs at an average of 33 – poor returns by his lofty standards.

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