The third-placed Mumbai will have to beat Meghalaya by a big margin to win with a bonus point and hope that the second-ranked Baroda get the better of J&K outright who are perched at the top of the points table
With their backs pressed firmly against the wall, defending champions Mumbai will be in desperate pursuit of a victory with bonus points when they take on Meghalaya in the final Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match in Mumbai starting Thursday. (More Cricket News)
Mumbai's title defence took a heavy blow last week when an unfancied but better-prepared Jammu and Kashmir stuck to their principle of "keeping it simple" and defeated the Ajinkya Rahane-led side by five wickets here at the BKC Ground.
The return of India captain Rohit Sharma, batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal and the presence of mainstays like Shreyas Iyer and Rahane did not have much impact on the proceedings as J&K kept chipping away with consistent pressure on the hosts.
Only Shardul Thakur was able to put up a stoic resistance with his 51 and 119 in the two innings to give Mumbai a fighting chance but his efforts were not enough in a game in which batters failed to cash in on a friendly surface.
Thakur personified resilience and gumption particularly in the second innings when he battled cramps while putting on a massive partnership of 184 runs for the eighth wicket with Tanush Kotian.
Mumbai will now be without Rohit, Jaiswal and Iyer who will link up with the Indian team ahead of the upcoming ODI assignments against England followed by the Champions Trophy.
The domestic giants will hope that young guns in Ayush Mhatre, Suryansh Shedge and Angkrish Raghuvanshi come good against Meghalaya.
Mhatre has had a fine debut season. The 17-year-old has smacked two tons in six first-class matches so far, while scoring 408 runs in five Ranji Trophy games at 45.33, including two tons and a fifty.
Mumbai may also look to bring in Siddhesh Lad back. He has 373 runs in four matches with one century and two fifties at 74.60.
In six matches, Mumbai have three wins and two defeats and one draw giving them 22 points.
In as many games, J&K have four wins and two draws to have earned 29 points while Baroda have four wins, one loss and a defeat giving them 27 points.
The third-placed Mumbai will have to beat Meghalaya by a big margin to win with a bonus point and hope that the second-ranked Baroda get the better of J&K outright who are perched at the top of the points table.
While a win would help Baroda, who beat Mumbai in the season-opener at home, advance to the quarter-final, the hosts will need at least three points from the contest to go through.
J&K excelled against Mumbai with a fine display of discipline and determination, particularly their pace trio of Umar Mir Nazir, Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh exploiting the first-day wicket which had a lot of moisture.