“Eden never disappoints.” That’s what Suryakumar Yadav said at the end of Mumbai’s training session at Eden Gardens on Friday.

Going through a rough patch, Surya will certainly be itching to come up with a significant contribution on being called up for Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final clash against Haryana beginning here on Saturday.

An innings of impact will surely place the India T20I captain in a better space of mind before bigger assignments. Surya also had some word of advice on the Eden pitch and conditions from his “good friend” and senior Bengal batsman Anustup Majumdar, who also visited the venue during Mumbai’s practice on Friday morning.

“I had played with Anustup for India A back in 2012… Had also called him yesterday (Thursday),” Surya said.

For Surya’s teammates, the game is expected to provide opportune moments to put their team in a commanding position.

Captain Ajinkya Rahane, who starred for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy being the tournament’s top scorer with 469 runs, has a good opportunity to be among runs as he gears up for IPL 2025. Agreed, that’s a different format, but having runs under the belt always helps.

Back in the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up, runs in this Ranji knockout stage will not just keep Rahane in a strong position ahead of the IPL but may also brighten his chances of leading the defending champions this year. Fully focused on the game, the Mumbai skipper preferred not to say a word on the eve of the quarter-final match.

The last-minute shift from Lahli, though, doesn’t seem to have gone down too well with Haryana. Although they didn’t say anything on record
on this matter, their disappointment in not being able to play at Lahli and make use
of the home advantage seemed apparent.

Mumbai, on the other hand, appear quite pleased with the nature of the Eden pitch. “It looks to be a good, sporting wicket,” Surya said.

For Haryana, how their lead quick Anshul Kamboj fares on the Eden track will be interesting to see.

Dube’s aim

Medium-pacer all-rounder Shivam Dube, too, yearns for a successful Ranji campaign as he eyes a berth in India’s Test squad. “Dube is very keen to earn his place in the Test team. So that makes these Ranji games very important for him,” Mumbai bowling coach Dhawal Kulkarni said.

Dube wasn’t present during Friday’s training session but had bowled and batted for quite some time during Thursday’s nets.

• Match starts: 9am