Bangalore: Back in the familiar environs of the Chinnaswamy Stadium, host Karnataka is hoping to build on its sedate start to the Ranji Trophy season. Having taken the first innings lead and two points against defending champion Railways in Delhi, Karnataka is now gearing up for a bigger test against Mumbai in the Elite Group A match that commences here on Thursday.

Mumbai, meanwhile, rode high on Wasim Jaffer's double hundred and R. Powar's six wickets to gain the lead over Delhi in a drawn encounter. And with Jaffer having fired at the top with A. Muzumdar playing the support role to perfection, the Mumbai batting poses a challenge though the absence of Vinayak Mane with an injured hand offers a crack for the host bowlers to exploit.

"As Mane is injured, young batsman S. Kukreja will make his debut. Both teams are full of young upcoming players and it will be an interesting contest," said Mumbai coach Karsan Ghavri.

Less variety

The coach, however, regretted the absence of leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule, who has moved to Maharashtra. "Last year we had much more variety but now with Bahutule missing, we only have a left-arm spinner in captain Nilesh and an off-spinner in Powar," Ghavri said. The Mumbai attack also features Avishkar Salvi, who is busy charting his comeback path after recovering from injuries.

The home team, led by Sujith Somasundar, needs runs at the top of the order. Opener Rowland Barrington, who is capable of dropping anchor, disappointed against the Railways and quickly needs to get back into the groove.

Welcome return

The return of Robin Uthappa, who skipped the earlier match as he was playing for the Board President's XI against Sri Lanka, is welcome news. However, the team management will be quite aware of the fact that it was the lower order, led by Kumble and Ganesh, which secured the crucial lead.

The host attack, which has the promising Vinay Kumar alongside veterans Ganesh and Sunil Joshi, will miss Kumble who is away for the Chennai Test. The pitch has been labelled `dry' and `slow' and the spinners are expected to play a bigger role as the match progresses.

The teams:

Karnataka: Sujith Somasundar (capt.), Robin Uthappa, Rowland Barrington, Thilak Naidu, Bharath Chipli, Sudhindra Shinde, Sunil Joshi, Udit Patel, Stuart Binny, B. Akhil, N.C. Aiyappa, Vinay Kumar, D. Ganesh, C. Raghavendra and Deepak Chougule; Coach: K. Jeshwanth; Physio: Ramakanth.

Mumbai: Nilesh Kulkarni (capt.), Wasim Jaffer, S. Kukreja, Vinit Indulkar, Amol Mazumdar, Nishit Shetty, O.J. Khanvilkar, Ramesh Powar, Vinayak Sawant, A. Salvi, Usman Malvi, Wilkin Mota, Abhijit Shettye, Swapnil Hazare and Parag Madkaikar; Coach: Karsan Ghavri; Physio: Amogh Pandit.

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