Mumbai seeks another dominant show in contest against Services

Mumbai aims for third Ranji Trophy win against Services at Airforce Complex ground in Palam, crucial for quarterfinal berth.

Mumbai will be chasing its third outright victory of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season when it goes up against Services in Palam from Wednesday.

With only eight points separating the top five teams in Group A, Mumbai, placed third behind Baroda and Jammu & Kashmir, knows that a victory before the campaign pauses for the white-ball tournaments will hold it in good stead for a quarterfinal berth when the First Class competition resumes in late January.

Services, currently fourth in the standings, would also like to challenge for a knockout spot. After defeats to Baroda and Jammu & Kashmir in the second and third rounds, it was able to bounce back by prevailing over Maharashtra by 35 runs in a tight match last week.

“We had lost the previous two games. So to beat Maharashtra was very important. We won a close contest and on their turf. For any team, that is bound to give confidence,” Services coach Rajesh Tiwari said after the team’s training session on Tuesday.

Task cut out

It will have its task cut out, however, against the Ajinkya Rahane-led defending champion. Mumbai showed its might in the previous round, thumping Odisha by an innings and 103 runs on the back of a 354-run stand — the highest for the fourth wicket for the 42-time winner — between Shreyas Iyer and Siddhesh Lad. Shreyas plundered a 228-ball 233 while Lad contributed 169 off 337 balls.

That Shreyas also hit a century against Maharashtra suggests he is in fine form as he bids to find a way back into India’s Test plans. If he gets going on what should be a good surface for stroke-making, Services captain Rajat Paliwal may have a lot of head-scratching to do.