Shams Mulani has bailed Mumbai out of trouble in crunch situations time and again.

This year, too, the spin-bowling all-rounder has been Mumbai’s leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy with 28 scalps, and the seasoned campaigner has followed it up with some consistent performances in white-ball cricket as well.

Despite the conditions in Jaipur not favouring the bowlers, Mulani has spearheaded Mumbai’s spin bowling department in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, claiming seven wickets in four games, including a maiden List A five-for against Chhattisgarh.

Now, as Mumbai looks to seal a berth in the knockouts, with a win against Maharashtra on Saturday, the left-arm tweaker believes that a ‘mix of aggressive and defensive bowling’ has been the key in the tricky conditions.

“A mix of defensive and aggressive bowling is important, because having five fielders inside (the circle) is tough for bowlers and especially on these wickets where the batters can line you up pretty nicely. Since it doesn’t spin much, the ball comes nicely on to the bat, so to outsmart the batters, you need to play with their minds and mix the deliveries,” Mulani told The Hindu.

Even though he has been among the consistent performers for Mumbai, an India-A berth has eluded Mulani. But he doesn’t want to think too much about it. “For Mumbai, you have to keep performing just to make your mark and stay in the team, because it’s difficult given the amount of talent we have. If you’re not performing, then you know that, somewhere, someone will replace you and that pressure is always there for each and everyone of us. So, you need to focus on one game at a time, and that’s what I do”.