Mumbai: Despite being bundled out for a paltry 148 in their first innings, Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah has not lost hopes of making a comeback in the Ranji Trophy final against Mumbai, saying the rival batsmen would also struggle on the Wankhede strip.
Shah said they would try to make early inroads into the home team`s reply.
"We should have batted better. 250 would have been a better score. Tomorrow, if we get good breakthroughs - like 3-5 wickets - it would be good for us," said Shah, who was out without bothering the scorer.
He expressed confidence that Saurashtra bowlers can also trouble Mumbai if they stick to a good length.
"All the bowlers would be good to bowl on this wicket but we need to bowl at the right length. The batsmen will struggle to score runs."
Shah said the Wankhede Stadium track aided the bowlers and it was a good decision by Mumbai to field first.
"They have used the home advantage in a way which has worked for them. Normally they bat first. There was something in the wicket and they used it well. The toss was slightly crucial in that sense. They made a good decision to field first," he said.
"It was a bit difficult to get runs because the batsmen were beaten on multiple occasions, as you could see."
Asked about the absence of two key players Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, Shah said it was not their decision.
"That is a BCCI?s call. We asked if they could play but they have to play in the national side. They needed their service more. It is more important," he said.
Mumbai pace spearhead Dhawal Kulkarni, who picked up 4 for 24, said the five wicket haul in the semi-final against Services at Delhi had given him a lot of confidence coming into the final.
"Obviously I would have been happy with a fifer. In the previous match I got five wickets and have carried that confidence into this game."
He did not agree to the suggestion that he had not bowled well earlier in the season.
"My performance has been the same, only thing missing were wickets."
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 18:44