Title contenders and defending champions Mumbai will have both form and pedigree on their side when they take on a spirited Haryana outfit that is seeking to prove a point in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal starting here from Saturday.
The shifting of the match to the iconic Eden Gardens from Lahli, Haryana's home venue, has affected the travel plans of both the teams, especially the hosts since the BCCI has not officially provided them any reason for the switch.
While Haryana will not enjoy the advantage of playing in the familiar environs of the Bansi Lal Stadium, Mumbai are too professional side to take any team lightly, more so in a knockout game of the country's premier domestic tournament which they have won an unprecedented 42 times.
As they brace up to take on a formidable opponent, Haryana would not like to read much into the shifting of their home match to a neutral venue, and would rather focus on the job at hand.
With India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and big-hitting all-rounder Shivam Dube joining an already strong and settled Mumbai team, Haryana know they will have their task cut out over what promises to be four days of intense battle.
Mumbai will not be short on confidence having registered their biggest win - by an innings and 456 runs - against Meghalaya in their last group match to qualify for the knockouts.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane has too many resources at his disposal and zeroing in on the playing XI is not going to be an easy task for the seasoned leader.
Mumbai had three centurions in Siddhesh Lad, Akash Anand and Shams Mulani with Rahane himself making 96 in their previous game and it will be interesting to see who are the two players making way for Suryakumar and Dube in the XI. Even pacer Shardul Thakur slammed a 42-ball 84 at a strike rate of 200.
While Shardul, along with left-arm spinner Mulani and in-form off-spinner Tanush Kotian, are certain to shoulder the bulk of the bowling load, the Mumbai think tank could be forced to drop two among openers Ayush Mhatre, Amogh Bhatkal and Suryansh Shedge from their much-vaunted batting line-up.
Both Suryakumar and Dube, who recently featured in India's five-match T20I series against England, have played one match each in Mumbai's title defence this season.
Suryakumar led India to a 4-1 series victory over England, but his own form left a lot to be desired as the batter was found wanting against the pace and bounce of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, managing just 28 runs across five innings.
Having got out multiple times while trying to play the flick shot, Suryakumar would want to use this match to address his batting woes.