BENGALURU: Karnataka vs Mumbai: It does not get any better than this.
Two domestic giants and in-form teams of the Vijay Hazare Trophy are set for a nerve-wracking semifinals clash at the Airforce Complex Ground in Palam, Delhi on Thursday.
There are a lot of similarities about the two teams. They topped their respective groups to reach the quarterfinals with some impressive wins under their belt with Mumbai still unbeaten. However, the match is going to be mostly about three in-form openers of the competition. Karnataka's Devdutt Padikkal (673 runs) and Ravikumar Samarth (605) are first and second in the highest run-scorers list, while Mumbai's Prithvi Shaw (589) lie third.
These batsmen have played an important role in their team's dominant show so far, and they will be keen to get their A game going once again. In fact, Padikkal and Samarth have been in rollicking form with the former scoring four hundreds on a trot while the latter has scored three tons. The best thing about the duo has been their opening partnerships, which includes four 100 plus stands in the competition so far.
"Our top-order has been in terrific form and we will once again be banking on them to deliver the goods. The plan is for one of them to play anchor and other to attack. So far it has worked and we'll be sticking to the same. Samarth has led brilliantly from the front while the young Devdutt has shown why he's been rated so highly. With Manish (Pandey) back and KV (Siddharth) also chipping it quite handsomely, our batting looks strong," said Karnataka coach Yere Goud.
It remains to be seen if Abhimanyu Mithun will feature in the playing XI as he missed the last game due to an injury. However, their bowling department is not a major concern with Ronit More, Praisidh Krishna, Shreyas Gopal and Krishnappa Gowtham in their ranks.
It would not be wrong to say Karnataka might have an edge over their opponents with some of Mumbai's big players missing. Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur are on international duty. It means, besides Shaw, they will need the likes of Shivam Dube, Aditya Tare to get their game together in an all-important semifinal. Goud is in no mood to take them lightly, especially when they have a genuine match-winner in the form of Shaw in ominous form.
"One can never take Mumbai lightly. There's a reason why they have won so many titles and are a powerhouse in India. Yes, Surya and Shreyas may be out on India duty but they've still got Prithvi who has been in sensational form with a double century. There's plenty of firepower in their batting and we are aware of it. They are unbeaten in the tournament and some of their wins have been lop-sided. It's going to be a cracking semifinal," said Goud.