Both Mumbai and Karnataka will be eyeing their first victory of this Ranji Trophy season when the two sides clash here from Tuesday in their Elite Group A match.
Mumbai drew the first game of this season against Railways in New Delhi, but more importantly they earned three crucial points as they took the first innings lead.
Same was the case with Karnataka, who grabbed three points after settling for a draw with Vidarbha at Nagpur after taking the first innings lead.
Mumbai, led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, have a strong batting line-up, despite the absence of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Prithvi Shaw, who are all on the national duty.
For Mumbai, a lot will depend on how their crisis man Siddesh Lad performs. Other regulars - Akhil Herwadkar, Surya Kumar Yadav, Jay Bitsa and experienced wicket-keeper and former skipper Aditya Tare - will have to play their roles to perfection.
On the bowling front, Kulkarni has the support of pacer Tushar Deshpande, besides spinners Karsh Kothari and Shams Mulani. If both the spinners play, then medium-pacer Aakash Parkar is likely to sit out.
Karnataka, led by Vinay Kumar, also has strong players and they would also be keen to beat Mumbai on their home turf.
