Over the decades, Mumbai has thrived as much on cricket as on Bollywood for leisure and entertainment. Star cast and plots — at times devoid of logic — have provided the perfect formula for success. The perennial quest for a happy ending hasn’t died yet and there’s no reason to speculate why 2006-07 could be different. Or else, why would a young team, struggling to find form and staring at relegation only a few weeks ago, become the bookmakers’ favourite to win the country’s premier domestic title (versus Bebngal). Mumbai started the Ranji season with two losses based on innings lead. An outright defeat followed and, by then, cricket’s trade analysts had sounded the board saying that the year would go on to be the biggest flop in the history of Mumbai cricket. Reviews had pronounced the captain-coach duo of Amol Muzumdar and Pravin Amre to be an unsuccessful pair and the young Mumbai team inexperienced enough for a mature and quality performance. The show, however, wasn’t over. Wary of where they had brought themselves to, Muzumdar’s team toiled endlessly, thereafter, to try and rework the script that had gone so bad. Playing at home, they recorded outright victories over Gujarat and Rajasthan and later against Maharashtra in Nashik to enter the semi-finals. A sensational win over Baroda, then, helped them clear the penultimate hurdle and now they stand on the verge of their 37th Ranji title with Bengal to fight with in the final.If they win it from here, Mumbai threaten to put the decade’s biggest thriller to shame. The bonus was Sachin Tendulkar’s agreeing to come up with a guest appearance. Once this was announced at the Wankhede Stadium, on Thursday afternoon, the queue for advance booking was already full. Apart from Tendulkar, there’s Zaheer Khan too, who would be looking forward to playing his first ever role in Mumbai cricket. “It doesn’t get bigger,’’ an overwhelmed Muzumdar said after the team finished practice on the eve of the match. The skipper’s word is that every player in the team has played his role to perfection and it is now for the more experienced performers to take over. “It’s been an unwritten rule. When the national stars are available, they automatically find a place in the team. To have Tendulkar, Zaheer, Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar in the side will add immensely to our strength,’’ he said about the superstars and the team’s expectations of a powerpacked performance. Meanwhile, Sourav Ganguly skipped his early morning practice session as he had travelled from Vadodara late night. Bengal coach Paras Mhambrey sounded confident. “The game in the league stage was played on a different track and here it is different. If you stay at the wicket, runs will come,” he said after a three-hour-long practice session.“The inclusion of Sourav Ganguly has strengthened our balance, that is how a final should be played where the best eleven should figure.”With openers SG Das and Arindam Das, Manoj Tiwary, AA Jhunjhunwala and Ganguly in the middle followed by all-rounders Rohan Gavaskar and LS Shukla, Bengal have a solid batting line-up.Last year, in the league match of Group B, Bengal had defeated Mumbai on first innings lead. However, defeating the hosts here in the final will be not be easy.Muzumdar too talks of the Ganguly factor. “Ganguly is a good player and his presence will definitely boost them. Bengal are a good team and they have been performing consistently for the last two seasons.”Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan is overjoyed. “It will be a great occasion for me. I always wanted to play for Mumbai. When I decided to leave Baroda, there were other places where I could have gone but Mumbai was on the top of my list. It couldn’t have gotten bigger,’’ an emotional Zaheer said on the eve of the match. (With inputs from Devendra Pandey)Waiting for the iconMUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar last played a Ranji match for Mumbai against Baroda in December 2000, where a blistering 105 off 95 balls in the first innings helped the side collect five points and an innings lead. Tendulkar will once again pad up for Mumbai when they take on Bengal, and his teammates are confident that his presence alone will bolster the side’s confidence. Rumour has it that Tendulkar wasn’t willing to pad up for this final. “The youngsters have worked hard and it is their title. I’ll come and sit in the dressing room,’’ he is supposed to have said before accepting to play in the final. “He being in the dressing room in itself is something that we would look forward to. But we want him out there. We want to have our best men guiding us,’’ a senior team member said after Thursday’s net session.
