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Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane wants his team to be
brave after eight seasons without winning the Ranji Trophy. Brave enough to
take 20 wickets, brave enough to show intent, brave enough to take chances, and
brave enough to achieve victories in four days.
Mumbai has achieved that thus far in the new Ranji
season by winning the first two rounds with bonus points. They first bowled
Bihar out for exactly 100 in both innings, handing them an innings defeat.
Then, at home, they destroyed Andhra by ten wickets. Mumbai made a bold
statement in both matches by forcing the opposition to chase, which isn’t
always the case in modern red-ball cricket.
Mumbai began the season with a win and an innings
victory, nearly replicating their start from the previous season. However,
their campaign took a turn for the worst after that, as they were unable to
advance past the group stages. This time, consistency will be crucial.
“It’s been a very good start for us this
season,” Rahane said in Mumbai after their win against Andhra. “The
challenge is to be consistent because when you want to win the Ranji Trophy, it
is all about being consistent throughout the period of time. We are looking to
take one game at a time. [It’s a] home-away format so the conditions keep
changing, so we have to be in the moment, try and see how the wicket will be in
Kerala [for the next game] and play to the conditions.”
Mumbai should be pleased that even though they have
lost both of their tosses thus far, their bowlers have performed admirably,
allowing just one opponent batter to score fifty runs in four innings. The fast
bowlers united in Patna to take on Bihar, and left-arm spinner Shams Mulani—who
took the second-most wickets in the previous Ranji season—snapped ten wickets
in the match against Andhra.
Rahane, who turns 36 this year, wishes to give
Mumbai’s younger players every bit of bravery that he can as an experienced
player. According to him, it could entail taking advantage of opportunities as
a bowler, leading after one inning if an outright victory is not feasible, or
demonstrating intent as a batter.
“It’s not about being safe,” Rahane
explained. “You have to be courageous. It’s a long tournament, and you win
matches only when your bowlers take wickets. So you first aim is to take the
innings lead, then think about how much time you have at your disposal because
in four days very few matches produce outright results. If you play on an
absolutely paata (flat) wicket, the outright result is very difficult. So,
first-innings lead, and with time on hand, we decide to go for an outright win.
Personally, I feel we shouldn’t play on a flat deck.
“It [courageous] doesn’t mean you go out there
and slog. It’s all about taking that extra risk or maybe playing with intent.
Thinking about your own performance, you go into your shell. But when you put
your team first, play your game, there is no fear of failure… that should be
the attitude.”