Mumbai, Vidarbha get ready to take final step

Mumbai, March 9

Led by an astute captain in Ajinkya Rahane, Mumbai will look to maintain their monopoly on the Ranji Trophy tournament with a 42nd title but find a gutsy and battle-hardened Vidarbha in their way as the final begins here tomorrow.

I want to see many players coming from Mumbai and representing India. The potential in our team is amazing. But it is just the beginning and I don’t want them to take it lightly. Ajinkya Rahane, Mumbai skipper

You can never tell which player can click since it is a final. We have strategies in place for (Mumbai’s) international players. Akshay Wadkar, Vidarbha skipper

Even though form has deserted Rahane — pacer Mohit Avasthi (192) has scored more runs compared to Rahane (134) — his men have waded through all the challenges en route the final this year. They meet their match in two-time champions Vidarbha, who brought their A game forward on key moments.

The spotlight will be on middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, who had just lost his BCCI annual contract for giving precedence to cash-rich IPL over domestic cricket. A hundred in Ranji final would certainly give him a lot of confidence.

Mumbai’s batters have not piled up runs in large numbers like those from their opponents through this season to make the final, but their lower-middle order has stood up and delivered in crunch situations.

On the other hand, Vidarbha’s Umesh Yadav, a man with 150-plus Test wickets, can still ask probing questions of Mumbai’s semi-brittle top-order with a brand new ball. With Karun Nair (616 runs at 41.06) leading the way, Dhruv Shorey (549 runs at 36.6), Akshay Wadkar (530 runs at 37.85), Atharva Taide (529 runs at 44.08) and Yash Rathod (456 runs at 57) have spruced up Vidarbha’s batting.