TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsThe Indian domestic red-ball tournament for the season 2023/24 is approaching its end. Vidarbha, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai & Madhya Pradesh are the teams that have made it to the semi-finals.
Madhya Pradesh eked out a win by four runs against Andhra. While that was the barest of margins, Tamil Nadu won by an innings against the defending champions Saurashtra. Mumbai batted out Baroda in the QF to settle for a draw with an innings lead, and Vidarbha went on to win by 127 runs against Karnataka.
Tamil Nadu (TN) will be up against the 41-time Ranji winners Mumbai in the second semi-final, and Vidarbha, who won in consecutive seasons (2017/18 & 2018/19), will play the 2021-22 winners Madhya Pradesh.
Vidarbha vs Madhya Pradesh, Nagpur VCA
Things to watch out for
A face-off between two excellent spin bowling all-rounders
Aditya Sarwate for Vidarbha and Saransh Jain for Madhya Pradesh have been exceptional with both bat and ball.
The left-arm spinner, Sarvate, has scored 332 runs at an average of 30.2 and has bagged 37 wickets at a staggering 15.97 runs per wicket. His 37 wickets are the most for Vidarbha in the 2023/24 season. On the other hand, the off-spinner Saransh has scored more runs (377) than Sarvate but has bagged fewer wickets than him (27). He has scored those runs at an average of 37.7 and picked a wicket every 18.96 runs. For Madhya Pradesh, only Kumar Karthikeya (38) has snaffled more wickets than Saransh.
Karun Nair is back among runs
Karun has been amongst the runs in his first season for Vidarbha. With 515 runs, he is the only Vidarbha batter to score 500+ runs this season. The start wasn't the greatest. After seven scores of less than 45, Karun bounced back with centuries in consecutive innings.
Against his former team in the QF, his 90 in the first innings helped Vidarbha post 460. In his last six innings, he has scored 380 runs at an average of 63.3 compared to 195 at 19.3 in his first seven.
Venkatesh Iyer in good form with the bat
In the absence of Rajat Patidar, Madhya Pradesh's vital player in the middle order, Venkatesh Iyer had to step up, and he has been up to the task.
The left-hander has scored 528 runs, the most for MP this season. He has scored those runs at an average of 52.8, their only batter to average above 50. He missed out in the QF, but MP will be reliant on him to come good again. He hasn't been active with the ball, as he has bowled only 30 overs in the entire season.
Players in form
Kumar Karthikeya: The left-arm mystery spinner is the leading wicket-taker for MP with 38 wickets. Throughout this season, only in the second innings against Himachal Pradesh, where he bowled only two overs, he went wicketless.
Anubhav Agarwal: The right-arm medium-pacer was critical in MP's close win in the QF. He has 24 wickets at an average of 13.9. Among bowlers with 20+ wickets this season, only Suraj Jaiswal (Bengal) has a better average (13.1 with 31 wkts) than him.
Atharva Taide: The left-handed opener played a crucial role in Vidarbha's win in the QF against Karnataka. His 109 in the first and 25 in the second innings helped Vidarbha win the contest. Taide, with 488 runs, is Vidrabha's third-best batter. However, his average of 48.8 is the second-best for Vidarbha this season.
Dhruv Shorey: Shorey was in good touch in the last two seasons and has also continued that this edition. The opener has scored 496 runs this season and is Vidarbha's second-best batter on the runs tally.
Tamil Nadu vs Mumbai, BKC Mumbai
Things to watch out for
Showdown of the best left-arm spinners
There will be a galore of quality left-arm spin in the semi-final clash between Tamil Nadu and Mumbai. TN's skipper Sai Kishore, Ajith Ram, his partner in crime, and Shams Mulani from Mumbai will be in action.
Let's start with the TN's left-arm spinners. With 47 wickets this season, Sai Kishore is the leading wicket-taker by a margin. He has bagged those wickets at an average of 18.8. There are five other bowlers with 41 wickets for the second spot, and Ajith Ram pips everyone on average. The youngster has scalped a wicket every 14.1 runs, better than his skipper. In fact, among spinners who have 20+ wickets, his average is the best. Mulani (27) has fewer wickets than Kishore or Ajith, but he is Mumbai's premier spinner.
Rahane's form and Shreyas Iyer's return to the spotlight
Shreyas Iyer was in the news for the wrong reasons after BCCI's central contract snub for not prioritizing domestic red-ball tournaments.
However, the middle-order batter will be playing the SF against Tamil Nadu. This will boost Mumbai's middle order. He played a match against Andhra this season, scoring 48 runs. On the other hand, the Mumbai skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, has had a horrendous season. He has scored 115 runs in ten innings at a paltry average of 12.8.
Two international stars fighting to prove their worth on the biggest stage, it can't get better.
Contrasting middle-order records
The middle-order batting has been polar opposites for the two teams this season. Mumbai's number three to five batters have averaged 29.2 and have lost a wicket every 52.1 balls. That has increased slightly because of Musheer Khan's double-century at number three in the QF.
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu's batters from the same position have averaged 53.3 and lost a wicket every 100.2 balls. Their batters between three and five have hit three centuries and nine half-centuries.
Mumbai will hope that the return of Iyer will solve their middle-order issues.
Players in form
Baba Indrajith: Indrajith has been the reason behind Tamil Nadu's middle-order success. The right-hander has scored 686 runs at an average of 76.2. In his last four innings, his lowest score is 48. He has scores of 98, 187 and 80 in the other three innings.
Narayan Jagadeesan: The wicket-keeper batter has amassed 812 runs this season at an average of 90.2, including a double-century in successive innings (245* & 321). Among 24 batters who have scored 500+ runs this season, only Devdutt Padikkal (92.7) averages better than him.
Musheer Khan: The young U-19 batter was the vital cog in Mumbai's first innings lead in the QF. The all-rounder scored 203 runs out of the 384 posted by Mumbai. He has been in good form since the Under-19 WC and will look to carry that forward.
Mohit Avasti: The 31-year-old medium pacer is the leading wicket-taker for Mumbai this season with 32 wickets. Mohit has picked those wickets at an average of 15.7 and has bagged a wicket every 27.6 balls. Among bowlers with 15+ wickets this season, only Deepak Dhapola (27.3) has a better strike rate than Mohit.
