Ranji Trophy 2019-20, Round 5, Elite Group A and B: Tamil Nadu vs Mumbai– Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The Round 5 Elite Group A & B fixture of the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 will be played between Tamil Nadu and Mumbai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The match starts at 9:30 AM local time (04:00 AM GMT). It will be live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. Live Streaming will be available on Hotstar.

Preview for Dream11 Fantasy

Two teams literally struggling for consistency in this Ranji Trophy season will face-off at the Chepauk in round 5 of the tournament. Mumbai and Tamil Nadu are two of the top teams in India’s domestic circuit. However, while Mumbai is coming off defeats at the hands of Railways and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu too have been bettered by Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

Though the Vijay Shankar-led side has drawn their previous two fixtures against Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. But no wins in four matches has put their campaign in trouble and this game against Mumbai is crucial for them. Moreover, they are playing at home with the likes of Baba Indrajith, Ashwin, Karthik and Mukund returning to the set up which makes them the favourites against a depleted Mumbai side.

Mumbai have lost their skipper Suryakumar Yadav who has been picked for India A tour of New Zealand. Prithvi Shaw has been ruled out due to injured shoulder while the likes of Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur are with team India in the ongoing Sri Lanka series.

Weather Condition/Report:

To start with, the forecast in Chennai on Saturday is really good. But a couple of morning showers are likely to interrupt the action on Sunday. However, there is no chance of rain since then in the match. It will be humid throughout the match which is usually the case in Chennai.

Pitch Report

This is the first match of the season at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Traditionally, the surface tends to assist the spinners a lot and this game shouldn’t be any different. The team winning the toss should bat first and put as many as runs as it can to bring the spinners into the game later.

Injury and Availability News:

For Mumbai, their skipper Suryakumar Yadav is unavailable as he has been selected in India A squad for the New Zealand tour. Even Prithvi Shaw has been ruled out due to the shoulder injury which he sustained during the previous match.

Tamil Nadu has included Ravi Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund in the squad.

Baba Indrajith who was declared fit to play on Thursday for the first time in seven months has been added to the Tamil Nadu squad. He is set to play this match.

Probable Playing XIs

Tamil Nadu

Abhinav Mukund, Baba Indrajith/Ganga Sridhar Raju, Kaushik Gandhi, Baba Aparajith, Vijay Shankar (C), Dinesh Karthik, N Jagadeesan (WK), Ravi Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, T Natarajan, K Vignesh/M Siddharth.

Bench – Baba Indrajith/Ganga Sridhar Raju, Laxmesha Suryaprakash, K Vignesh/M Siddharth, K Mukunth, Pradosh Ranjan Paul.

Mumbai

Jay Bista, Bhupen Lalwani, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, Aditya Tare (C & WK), Shubham Ranjane, Hardik Tamore/Akash Parkar, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Shashank Attarde, Royston Dias.

Bench – Aquib Kureshi, Vinayak Bhoir, Deepak Shetty, Hardik Tamore/Akash Parkar.

Top Picks:

Kaushik Gandhi has been the batsman so far for Tamil Nadu with 183 in four innings at an average of 45.75 with a scintillating century. Dinesh Karthik had also scored a century in the team’s season opener and can play a crucial role in this game. With the pitch expected to turn a lot, Ashwin and Sai Kishore will be key even as Baba Aparajith is important.

For Mumbai, Shams Mulani (14 wickets) and Shashank Attarde (13 wickets) are two of the top wicket-takers this season. Both of them are spinners and will definitely rule the roost. Moreover, Mulani (122 runs in five innings at 24.40) has been decent with the bat too. The debutant, Bhupen Lalwani could be a surprise package as he is coming after amassing more than 650 runs in four matches for Mumbai U23 in CK Nayudu Trophy.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Baba Aparajith, Dinesh Karthik, Ravi Ashwin

Vice-Captain – Aditya Tare, Shams Mulani, Abhinav Mukund

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Dinesh Karthik, Aditya Tare

Batters – Abhinav Mukund, Baba Aparajith (C), Siddhesh Lad, Jay Bista

All-Rounders – Ravi Ashwin (VC), Shashank Attarde

Bowlers – R Sai Kishore, K Vignesh, Shams Mulani

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Dinesh Karthik (C), Aditya Tare

Batters – Baba Aparajith, Sarfaraz Khan, Bhupen Lalwani

All-Rounders – Ravi Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, Shashank Attarde

Bowlers – R Sai Kishore, Shams Mulani (VC), Royston Dias

Expert Advice

The debutant, Bhupen Lalwani could be a surprise package as he is coming after amassing more than 650 runs in four matches for Mumbai U23 in CK Nayudu Trophy. You can pick him in Grand League team as not many know about him.

Baba Indrajith is likely to play his first game in seven months. If he is included in the XI, you can pick him. But he could be rusty as well. He will open the innings if he plays.

Suryakumar Yadav has been picked in 85% of the teams. Do not pick him as he is not available. Same is the case with Ajinkya Rahane and Prithvi Shaw.

Probable Winners

Tamil Nadu are expected to win this match.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.