Mumbai and Baroda are set to face each other in the first semifinal of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024. It is going to be a star-studded clash with Mumbai having the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube among many others in their team. They will face a stern challenge from the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, who are having a fantastic tournament.
It is great to see the players who feature in the Indian team playing domestic cricket this season. It has increased the level of the tournament a notch as well and the first semifinal is certainly going to be thrilling at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Shreyas Iyer who has been picked by Punjab Kings is leading Mumbai while Krunal Pandya is the leader of the Baroda lot.
Team Form
Kerala is the only team to beat Mumbai this season so far. Rahane and his men have won the last four matches while their overall record is six wins in seven matches. Mumbai are coming into the semifinal on the back of 222 and 230-run chases in consecutive matches against Vidarbha and Andhra. They will be confident yet again certainly, however, if the pitch is not flat, their batters might end up struggling a bit having got used to the flat decks in the last few outings.
Meanwhile, Baroda have also lost only one match this season in seven outings. Apart from a 78-run loss at the hands of Saurashtra, it has been a great season for Krunal and his troops. Hardik Pandya's form is also a great sign for them even as they notched up the highest-ever total in T20 cricket history in their last group game as well. Baroda smashed 349 runs against Sikkim to create history. But against Mumbai, they will have to tackle a strong bowling attack and bowl even better as well having defended 172 against Bengal in the quarterfinal.
Most runs
Bhanu Pania is the leading run-getter for Baroda amassing 271 runs at an average of 67.75 and a strike rate of 222.13.
Experienced Ajinkya Rahane is leading the way with the bat having smashed 334 runs at an average of 55.66 in six innings and a strike rate of 167.83. He has notched up four half-centuries this season so far and was vital in Mumbai chasing massive scores in the last two matches.
Most wickets
Atit Sheth is on top of the charts for Baroda picking up 13 wickets so far at an average of 20.69. But his economy of 10.34 is a huge problem for them. Krunal Pandya is among the most economical bowlers for them having conceded only 6.96 runs per over this season
Mumbai have played on some of the flattest of pitches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season. Shardul Thakur and Mohit Avasthi are their joint-highest wicket-takers with 12 scalps each but both of them have conceded more than 10 an over. Tanush Kotian is their most economical bowler having gone for 7.66 runs an over and has accounted for eight wickets so far.
Top IPL players in action in Mumbai vs Baroda and their team
Mumbai - Shivam Dube (Chennai Super Kings), Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings), Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders), Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians), Suryansh Shedge (Punjab Kings)
Baroda - Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians), Krunal Pandya (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
Squads
Baroda Squad: Shashwat Rawat, Abhimanyu Singh Rajput, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya(c), Shivalik Sharma, Bhanu Pania, Vishnu Solanki(w), Atit Sheth, Mahesh Pithiya, Lukman Meriwala, Akash Maharaj Singh, Bhargav Bhatt, Mitesh Patel, Ninad Ashvinkumar Rathva, Shubham Shyamsunder Sharma, Soyeb Sopariya, Chintal Gandhi, Jyotsnil Singh, Raj Limbani, Lakshit Toksiya
Mumbai Squad: Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Hardik Tamore(w), Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Atharva Ankolekar, Siddhesh Lad, Royston Dias, Jay Gokul Bista, Sairaj Patil, Shams Mulani, Akash Anand, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Himanshu Singh, M Juned Khan
