Mumbai vs Saurashtra, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023-24, Today Match Prediction 01 December 2023

mum vs sau Match Prediction & Analysis

Mumbai have won 4 consecutive matches and will be eying a 5th straight win as they take on Saurashtra at the KSCA Cricket (3) Ground in Alur. And though Saurashtra have won 2 of their 4 matches so far including their last match, they don’t look strong enough to stop the Mumbai juggernaut.

The batters in Saurashtra have failed time and again and even if the bowlers manage to get an upper hand on this wicket, the lack of consistency from the batters will be a huge issue against an in-form Mumbai bowling attack.

Ajinkya Rahane has struggled to get going in the recent matches and will be eager to find his rhythm being the captain of the side playing in a crucial position.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Mumbai Preview

Mumbai would have expected a bigger victory in their last game where they chased down a 68-run target against Puducherry. They lost their top 3 batters on their way to victory and that is something they should be looking to work on.

Rahane’s lack of consistency hasn’t hurt Mumbai yet but it could put them on the backfoot when they face a tougher opponent in the quarter-finals. Suved Parker and Sarfaraz Khan in the middle order are crucial to a big score for Mumbai.

These two have looked promising and will be tested on a tricky pitch at the KSCA Cricket (3) Ground in Alur.

Mumbai’s biggest strength has been their bowling. Tushar Deshpande and Shams Mulani will be leading the attack. They are among the key wicket-takers for Mumbai delivering consistent breakthroughs.

Mumbai Predicted Playing XI:

Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shams Mulani, Jay Gokul Bista, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Prasad Pawar (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Atharva Ankolekar, Tushar Deshpande, Suved Parkar, Royston Dias, Sairaj Patil

Saurashtra Preview

Saurashtra secured their first win of the season in Bengaluru playing against Puducherry as they successfully defended 222 runs. They never bounced back with the bat since then.

In the next game they were bowled out for 110 runs while chasing a 259-run target while in the recent match against Odisha, they lost 6 wickets while chasing a 100-run target.

The 37-year-old opening batsman Sheldon Jackon was out for 4, 3, and 0 in the last 3 innings. And in spite of Cheteshwar Pujara at number 4 followed by a bowling all-rounder like Devendrasingh Jadeja in this lineup, Saurashtra have failed to live up to the expectation.

Opener Harvik Desai is another promising batter in this side who can make an impact. Skipper Jaydev Unadkat leads a good-looking side with some promising players in every department.

Prerak Mankad and Devendrasingh Jadeja will be the key players to watch out for in the bowling attack.

Saurashtra Predicted Playing XI:

Harvik Desai (wk), Sheldon Jackson, Chirag Jani, Cheteshwar Pujara, Arpit Vasavada, Vishvaraj Jadeja, Prerak Mankad, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Jaydev Unadkat (c), Ankur Panwar, Jay Gohil

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It is not a particularly high-scoring pitch and bowlers have managed to dominate consistently on this surface. The weather will be cloudy with a high of 28 degrees Celsius in Alur on the match day.

Venue Details

Mumbai will clash with Saurashtra at the KSCA Ground (3) in Alur. There have been mixed results here with teams managing to defend low totals and also score big while batting first. Overall, it is tricky to bat here and we reckon a 260+ 1st innings total will be a match-winning score.

Toss: To Bat

Teams batting first have won 3 of the 4 matches played at this venue. Teams have managed to successfully defend below-par totals on this ground. And with a strong bowling attack, both teams should look to defend a total in this match.