Sachin, Zaheer set for Ranji showdown

Since the arrival of the latest Khan on the international scene this is the first official face-to-face meeting of the stalwarts. Though Zaheer is said to be only 70 per cent fit, the fastest bowler of India is still raring to fire on all cylinders against the best batsman in the world who also has the “home” advantage on his side what with MIG Club being his neighbourhood.

To Zaheer’s credit his team has the psychological edge of having defeated Mumbai in the last season. Also the presence of former India wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia, now free from all the accusations, makes Baroda a formidable opponents.

To be sure, it’s a competition between grit and firepower. While Mumbai may draw strength in the return of stars Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar, Baroda are banking on Zaheer and Mongia not to forget the prolific domestic scorer Jacob Martin who leads the visitors.

It is rare that a full fledged Mumbai side has any worthwhile opposition in West Zone but then Baroda have shown resilience and have come up as a team to watch for. Opener Connor Williams has hit the scene making his bat do the talk while Rakesh Patel, a trainee of National Cricket Academy appears to be walking on the lines of Zaheer Khan.

Former skipper Tushar Arothe, who recently opted out as captain citing wrong selection policy, has also proved his skills by picking up wickets every now and then.

While Baroda seem to have struck the right balance, Mumbai with the return of stars is struggling to find the final combination.

Captain Sameer Dighe, who missed the last match against Saurashtra following a hairline fracture to the right index finger, is still to recover fully and Vinod Kambli still — nursing a sore left thumb — are among a few worries.

Mumbai coach Ashok Mankad, however appeared optimistic. On the contrary he said, “I am facing a problem of choice and it’s a good sign for us.”

Buoyed by the star value that Mumbai carries for the match, Dighe too sounded confident saying, “With Sachin and Ajit in the side we are once again strong,” adding “there’s no question of revenge against Baroda. We respect our opponents.”

Baroda coach Vineet Wadkar brushed aside any talk of pressure on his team. “I don’t believe that there’s any psychological or home advantage for Mumbai. Yes return of Sachin and Ajit makes Mumbai look strong but we will also put in our best.”

A firm MIG pitch should offer a healthy contest and in all likeliness either captains expect to make most of the early morning moisture. All in all whosoever makes the first strike will dictate the terms. And who would be more keen to do so than Tendulkar and Zaheer themselves.

Mumbai playing its penultimate match of the season has 13 points to its credit while Baroda has 11 — also from two matches.

Teams: Mumbai (from): Sameer Dighe (Capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Amol Muzumdar, Ajit Agarkar, Robin Morris, Paras Mhambrey, Sairaj Bahutule, Ramesh Powar, Santosh Saxena, Wasim Jaffer, Nilesh Kulkarni.

Baroda: Jacob Martin (Capt), Connor Williams, Tushar Arothe, Nayan Mongia (wk), Satyajeet Parab, Zaheer Khan, Rakesh Patel, Sukhbhir Singh, Himanshu Jadhav, Ajit Bhoite, Valmik Buch, Umang Patel (12th man).