Mumbai’s pursuit of their 41st Ranji Trophy title has brought them to Pune, where they will take on Saurashtra in the final of the 2015-16 season. As they prepare for the grand finale, Mumbai are boosted by the return of Dhawal Kulkarni, who had missed the semi-final due to injury. A senior member of the team, the pacer has led the attack in recent years and can also contribute with the bat. “He brings experience. He has played a lot of finals and done a lot for Mumbai. He has won games for Mumbai. So, having him in our ranks is a good thing for us before the final,” captain Aditya Tare told the media after practice session in Pune. While Mumbai have a good attack, they will be tested by the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara. The top-order batsman is back among runs and played a crucial role in the team’s semi-final clash. Agreeing that he will be a key wicket, Tare said, “He is a Test player at the moment and a good player of the longest format, so it will be a good contest. We have a good bowling attack as well so it will be a good contest. (However) It is not the first time that we are playing against a Test player. We have faced many Test players many good strong teams, so we have that experience of playing against good players and strong teams.” Speaking about his own line-up, Tare said, “We have got extremely talented players and it is great to see the way they are backing their talent. Shreyas (Iyer), Akhil (Herwadkar) are at the top of the order and they put the opposition on the back foot. The quality of batsmanship that they have shown on all sorts of pitches, not only on batting pitches is a very good sign as a batting unit for us.” “The bowlers have been picking wickets. Shardul (Thakur) has been extremely good, and Balwinder Sandhu too while Dhawal coming back this season has helped this team,” he said while discussing the team’s bowling. “Overall, I would say that we have played on all sorts of pitches and we produced good results on those pitches that is why I say we have played good brand of cricket this season,” he said. “Everyone knows their role in the team and that is important. As long as they know their role and carry it out in the middle that is important for us,” he added. Discussing his own form, the Mumbai skipper said, “I did well in domestic T20 tournament, but before that I had an ordinary season. The runs that I scored in T20 helped me comeback in this tournament. I feel good about my batting at the moment and I need to carry on. “I think we have prepared really well. We have worked hard and the only thing on the entire team’s mind is winning Ranji Trophy for Mumbai,” the skipper emphasised. While Mumbai won the last encounter between the two teams, the current side is a different set, a younger team with Abhishek Nayar being the senior most of the lot. And the Tare-led team are cognisant of the fact. “It’s good that we won the Ranji Trophy (then). It was my first full season, but to be honest, a completely contrasting team. We had Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Ajit Agarkar (in the team in 2012-13) and lots of experienced players. But this is a completely contrasting team so it is a different challenge. Obviously people are going to relate it to that final, it was two-three years back, and the same teams are involved, but I don’t think it should be of any importance because it happened in the past and the result of that game doesn’t have any significance in this contest,” Tare said.

“This team barring three-four players, no one has really won a Ranji Trophy. The teams in the past have won it 40 times, we are still young and we haven’t won it yet. It will be a good challenge for us to do something special this season and for the years to come as this team is gelling well; the youngsters are extremely good and we have a bright future ahead.” While the team did not make it to the finals of the domestic T20 and had a forgettable run in the domestic one-day tournament, Mumbai have dominated in the longer format. Tare attributed the team’s commanding presence in the multi-day format to the legacy of Mumbai cricket. Agreeing that they look like a different team in the longest format, he said, “We grow with that mentality. In the past, players, (Mumbai) teams have dominated the longer version. They have dominated the Ranji Trophy so the mentality in the team is such that we are good four-day - five-day players. We play the Times Shield and other tournaments in Mumbai so that really helps. That’s how a young cricketer is groomed in Mumbai. I think that plays a role in grooming this young team.”

Mumbai have also been boosted by words of advice and encouragement from former India captain, Sachin Tendulkar, who has been interacting with the team occasionally throughout the season. “It is always nice to have him around the team. His inputs are always very crucial to each and every one of us. He makes a point to speak to everyone and he wished us and it was good to have him before the finals,” Tare said when asked about the final words of advice from the legendary cricketer ahead of the final.