MUMBAI: Odisha has not had the greatest start to the Ranji Trophy, beginning with an abandoned fixture against Tripura, followed by a fighting draw against Jammu and Kashmir, where they let the visitors come from behind. Things only worsened from there, as Baroda defeated them by an innings.
As it stands, Odisha is second from the bottom in their group and faces a massive challenge ahead. They are set to take on defending champions Mumbai at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC Ground on Wednesday. However, captain Govinda Poddar believes Odisha is prepared and ready for the challenge.
"It's just the third match that we are going to play (one got abandoned). If you see, last year, in the Vijay Hazare in Bangalore, we beat Mumbai. And definitely in the Ranji Trophy, in red-ball cricket, Mumbai are a very good side. But given a chance, the team which plays on that day will definitely win the match," Poddar told reporters on the eve of the match at the venue.
Poddar considers the pitch to be sporting, and Odisha will want their top-order batters to step up and put on a good score. Apart from the captain, others have struggled to convert their starts, something they will want to avoid against Mumbai.
Their strength lies with their bowling attack, as Odisha has consistently run through top orders, whether against J&K or Baroda. However, they have struggled to take the wickets of middle-order batters.
"We are happy to see a good layer of grass cover on the wicket. It will definitely help the fast bowlers as well as the batters. Gradually, it will help the spinners. We have Suryakant Pradhan, who has more than ten years of experience. Debabrata Pradhan, Rajesh Mohanty, and Sunil Roul are all doing well," Poddar said.
While their current position in the table is motivation enough, Poddar and his players are also aware of the limelight they can gain by performing against a team like Mumbai, which will be led by Ajinkya Rahane and feature star players such as Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur.
"For us, if we perform here, then definitely our players are going to get more limelight throughout India. Because of all the media coverage, they keep an eye on Mumbai cricket. It's a very good opportunity for us to experiment and implement what we have prepared from last year," Poddar concluded.