‘Need to stick together and fight’ – Shardul Thakur hopeful of Mumbai making to Ranji Trophy quarter-finals | Cricket News

For the past few days Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane and coach Omkar Salvi made several visits to the pitch at the MCA-BKC ground in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra. It’s a must-win game for them against Meghalaya, and they are hoping to take the bonus point. Even in that scenario, they still would have to wait for help from other teams if they are to get through to the knockouts.
Mumbai, who has 22 points, will hope to win this game with a bonus point to be in fray for qualification. They will keep an eye on the Baroda vs Jammu & Kashmir team which is to be played in Vadodara. J&K are Group A leaders with 29 points while Baroda are placed second on 27. Mumbai will hope J&K beats Baroda outright and if Mumbai wins outright with bonus points, they will have a chance. Baroda needs a draw or win to secure a berth for knock-out stages. However, if Baroda beats J&K, Mumbai’s hope of going ahead looks bleak.
Mumbai will be going with a less star studded team for their league last game. Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer won’t be part of the league last game. The selectors have gone back to youngsters, like Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Suryansh Shedge.
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Mumbai’s all-rounder Shardul Thakur says Mumbai won’t take any team lightly and lessons are learnt observing. “Longer format is an emotional roller coaster ride, one session can take the game away. The player who has observed must have learned from it. Be humble and be respectful, I don’t take anything or anyone lightly. The message from the coach and captain is simple. We need to stick together and play together as a team,” Thakur said on eve of the game.
Thakur explains that his team is aware that they need seven points and that the team needs to fight it out in the middle.
“It’s about believing. When chips are down, we have to believe that we can come on top. We need to trust our preparation and execute our skills, we will be good. As Mumbai team whenever we are pushed back on the wall, we have emerged on the top. We are hoping to play with that kind of attitude what we have been doing over the years. I think we will be fine,” he adds. Meghalaya hasn’t won a single game this season.