Mumbai under pressure

MUMBAI, DEC 26: Mumbai's reign in the overs-limited version is under threat. Saurashtra fired the first salvo when they humbled the Wills...

MUMBAI, DEC 26: Mumbai8217;s reign in the overs-limited version is under threat. Saurashtra fired the first salvo when they humbled the Wills Trophy champions by 77 runs last month. In between, Vadodara emerged a serious contender for West Zone honours by defeating Saurashtra and Maharashtra. And when Mumbai takes on Vadodara in the zonal one-day league match tomorrow, it would be more than a trial of strength. A defeat would find their Wills hopes going up in smoke. But a win could chart their future course in the competition.

The Wankhede Stadium setting provides an ideal launching pad for the Mumbai lads to put behind their not-too-encouraging performances this season. And Mumbai have an array of players with international experience to overcome the sluggish start.

The Tushar Arothe-led Vadodara, on the other hand, will be banking on the collective strength of senior pros Atul Bedade, Royapetta Swaroop, Connor Williams, Jacob Martin and Laxmanan Sivaramakrishnan to deliver the knockout punch.

The33-year-old Siva will be the cynosure of all in the one-dayer and the ensuing Ranji Trophy tie. The Tamil Nadu leggie, who switched allegiance to Vadodara this season, will be playing only his second match. A back strain suffered during the one-dayer against Saurashtra kept him out for two Ranji games. In fact, he would would be playing his first Ranji match of the season when he takes the field on Monday.

Mumbai coach Ashok Mankad admitted, 8220;Cricket has improved all over the country and we are not going to underestimate any opposition.8221;

The Teams

Mumbai from: Vinod Kambli captain, Amit Pagnis, Wasim Jaffer, Manoj Joglekar, Jatin Paranjape, Pravin Amre, Sameer Dighe wicket-keeper, Nilesh Kulkarni, Sairaj Bahutule, Paras Mhambrey, Abey Kuruvilla, Santosh Saxena, Rajesh Sutar, Faisal Shaikh and Manish Patel. Coach: Ashok MankadVadodara from: Tushar Arothe captain, Martin Jacob vice-captain, Atul Bedade, Royapetta Swaroop, Moinuddin Kadri, Connor Williams, Himanshu Jadhav, LaxmanSivaramakrishnan, Arjun Chawda, Darshan Mulherkar, Milap Mewada wicket-keeper, Ashish Tandon, Yogendra Wakaskar and Prayan Dave. Coach: Vineet Wadkar.

Umpires: AV Jayaprakash Karnataka, JK Hariharan DelhiMatch Referee: OK Ramdas Kerala