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A Preview to
Mumbai's Ranji Season 2004/05 |
- Venkat
If any cricket team comes close to matching
Arsenal's unbeaten run in the English
Premiership, its the Mumbai Ranji Team. Two
years of utmost dominance in the Ranji Trophy
Elite Division has done nothing but help the
revival of Mumbai Cricket from its days of
wilderness. But, the big question thats buzzing
around is that will Mumbai carry forward its
winning streak and claim the Ranji Trophy for
the third consecutive time? Cricketfundas.com
gives its readers an exclusive preview to the
season, with special references to Mumbai's
prospects in the Domestic Season.
Having emerged as champions in the last two
attempts under the guidance of coach Chandrakant
Pandit and skippers Sairaj Bahutule
(2003-04) and Paras Mhambrey (2002-03), the
Mumbai team is confident of repeating its
success. For a side that has dominated the
Indian Domestic Scene for the past so many
years, success is increasingly becoming a habit,
with spells of unfortunate failure. But, there
is a sense of regret among the average Mumbai
cricket fan - that apart from Sachin and Ajit
Agarkar, no other Mumbaikar finds a place in the
national side. However, consolation is all that
Mumbai cricket can get, with skipper Sairaj
Bahutule leading the India 'A' team, which also
includes speedsters like Avishkar Salvi, Robin
Morris and all-rounder Ramesh Powar. Perhaps, a
serious food for thought for the selectors.
I spoke to a man who has been a devoted fan of
the Mumbai Cricket team since the past 40 years
or so and he for one expressed his utmost
confidence of the Mumbaikars emerging champs yet
again. But, there are some holes that need to be
filled. The middle order looks slightly brittle
although the return to form of Bhavin Thakkar
and Amol Mazumdar (who made a ton in the finals)
is an encouraging sign. The top order with
Vinayak Mane and Wasim Jaffer is one of the best
in the country and hopefully these two will give
the platform for the other classy batsmen like
Vinod Kambli and Amol Muzumdar to help Mumbai
build a huge total and enable the bowlers coming
into their own on these flat dusty maidans. The
striking feature of this Mumbai team is the all-rounders
they have in the line-up. Ramesh Powar, Robin
Morris, Sairaj Bahutule and Vinit Indulkar can
be relied upon to change the course of the match
from any given situation, and their contribution
over the last two seasons has been the decider
between a Mumbai victory and a draw (since they
haven't lost a game for the past two years).
The bowling unit of the Mumbaikars has always
been among the best in the country and has a lot
of quality to offer. It has a good combination
of youth and experience. The pace battery will
consist of tear away speedsters Ajit Agarkar &
Aavishkar Salvi . The Mumbai pitch over the past
few years has been "sporting" and has been the
breeding ground of success for these quickies.
The spinning unit will consist of Ramesh Powar,
Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule and one
thing common to them are that they have all been
a part of the Indian dressing room in historic
wins and this by itself should be a threat alarm
for the opponents. Sairaj is in tremendous
bowling form this season and could be one of the
core contributors for the Mumbaikars.
Mumbai cricket has seen a lot of ups and downs
over the last 5 years. While it is increasingly
seeming that Mumbai cricket hasn't looked back
since 2002, they cannot take the season lightly.
The dogma of complacency in Indian cricket has
its roots in Mumbai, and if Mumbai Cricket needs
to take a step forward, complacency cannot be a
member of the team. According to me, this season
will be an acid test for Mumbai's consistency
and class, as there will be tougher teams to
encounter and coming out stronger in those
challenges will be the key to Mumbai's win in
the Ranji Trophy.
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