Defending champions Mumbai are starting the season on a better note than they did last year. They now have a regular coach and captain at helm, a couple of senior internationals in their ranks and four home games on the trot.But still, their opponents - Karnataka - may just have the edge in the Ranji season opener tomorrow, with two super stars of Indian cricket, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid, in their ranks.However, Mumbai today highlighted their win in the Mohd. Nissar Trophy against Karachi Urbans, choosing to underplay the Irani Trophy loss to Rest of India.Coach Praveen Amre harped on the home advantage. “Playing away means, we take some time to settle down. Last year the team was new. Amol Muzumdar and I were making our debut (as coach and captain) and the same was true for some other youngsters. But things are different as we are playing at home now,” he said. Besides, the return of Mumbai regulars like Wasim Jaffer, Ramesh Powar and Ajit Agarkar has made things easier. “Frankly speaking, last year I had no clue what should I expect from these boys. But the sight of old faces in the dressing room has been reassuring now,” Muzumdar said.In the rival camp, Karnataka coach Vijay Bharadwaj, who maintained that Dravid should have been at the Team India camp at Kolkata and not at the Wankhede, gave a warning of sorts to the hosts. “The presence of Dravid and Kumble has charged the entire team.” Skipper Anil Kumble too expected a big contribution from his old mate Dravid. “He’ll be eager to get some runs here,” said Kumble. But Dravid’s record at the Wankhede is not too encouraging.Matches starting on Saturday:• Himachal Pradesh v Saurashtra: (HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala)• Tamil Nadu v Maharashtra: (MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai)• Orissa v Uttar Pradesh: (Barabati Stadium, Cuttack)• Punjab v Andhra Pradesh: (Gandhi Sports Complex Ground, Amritsar)
