It will take a herculean effort from Madhya Pradesh to stop Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.
Barring a loss to Kerala in the group stage, Mumbai has been an unstoppable force. No target is out of reach, as the batting line-up consisting of Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Suryansh Shedge can all pack a mighty punch.
Opener Rahane, in particular, has been a standout success. The highest run-scorer of the tournament, Rahane has taken the game away in the PowerPlay with electric strokeplay.
Shedge, meanwhile, has emerged as fine finisher, going at a tournament high strike-rate of 256.7. New ball bowlers Mohit Avasthi and Shardul Thakur have come good with 13 wickets each.
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Madhya Pradesh depends heavily on Rajat Patidar to produce a magical knock. The Royal Challengers Bangalore batter has four fifties in nine matches, including a match-winning unbeaten 29-ball 66 against Delhi in the semifinal here.
Patidar relies on Harpreet Singh for company in the middle-order. A stable presence, Harpreet provides the ideal foil for the attacking Patidar.
Venkatesh Iyer has moved down the order in this tournament, and could be called into action early in the event of a collapse.
Baroda’s left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya is the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament, even if his efficiency has dipped in the knockout stages.