Domestic Giants Battle For Semifinal Spot: Rahul, Jaiswal, Thakur & Krishna To Headline Star-Studded Contest

Mumbai: Most successful Ranji Trophy sides will clash in the 2025-26 season quarterfinal at MCA's BKC ground from Friday. Both sides have star attractions, including Mumbai’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shardul Thakur, and Sarfaraz Khan, while Karnataka boasts KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, and Prasidh Krishna in their ranks. Mumbai has won the title a record 42 times, with 2023-24 being the last title, while Karnataka has won it on eight occasions, but the last title came a decade ago.

Padikkal, who replaced an experienced Agarwal as captain in the second leg of the Ranji Trophy, will continue to lead the side. The left-handed batter hit an unbeaten 120 in the last game against Punjab to help his side chase 250 in 28 overs and enter the quarterfinal by finishing runners-up in Group B. Madhya Pradesh topped Group B and will play Group D runners-up Jammu and Kashmir in the other quarterfinal. Mumbai topped Group D at the League stage with 33 points.

Nair, who missed out against Punjab due to injury, will return to the side. He is Karnataka’s highest run-scorer this season with 614 runs in six matches.

Thakur, who was nursing a groin injury, will return as captain for the home team.

The last game against Delhi was affected by noise and air pollution due to building construction near the BKC ground, but it is unlikely to have any impact on this game, as proper netting had been erected outside the construction building to prevent dust and cement particles from entering the stadium. Although there was construction noise on Thursday, according to sources, there will be no noise activity during the match that can disturb the players.

The wicket assisted the pacers in the first two days of the previous game, and spinners struggled even on the last day to take wickets. But this time being a five-day game, spinners may have more impact as the game advances, though pacers will continue to dictate, especially on the first couple of days. Mumbai spin attack will be led by their top-wicket taker Shams Mulani, who has 30 scalps in six matches. Tanush Kotian and Musheer Khan are also there to bowl spin. Tushar Deshpande and Mohit Awasthi are likely to form the pace attack with Thakur.

Jaiswal will look to make an immediate impact on return, and Siddhesh Lad has been in prime form and is the top scorer for Mumbai with 737 runs in seven matches. Sarfaraz has struggled on the BKC ground, which is closest to his Kurla home, and he would like to set the record straight and build on a double ton in Hyderabad. He struggled with a hamstring sprain in the previous game and was down with viral fever ahead of the key match. His brother Musheer has been consistent with the bat and taken wickets also.

Karnataka has a star-studded batting line-up with Rahul, Nair, Pallikal, and Agarwal in the top order. R Samran has also scored over 600 runs this season. The bowling department will be led by experienced leg spinner Shreyas Gopal, who is their top wicket taker with 37 wickets in 7 matches. Prasidh Krishna will lead the pace bowling.