Mumbai lift Ranji Trophy in style

Easter Sunday, retirement from first class cricket and a Ranji Trophy triumph. Abey Kuruvilla was a picture of contentment as he led the side off the field after they beat Hyderabad by the thumping margin of 297 runs. The scenes out in the middle that followed the fall of the last wicket were made especially emotional by the events that led up to this victory. Mumbai had a very bad season last time around and did not even qualify for the Ranji Super League. Sachin Tendulkar handed the captaincy of the Mumbai team to stumper Sameer Dighe and still pulled off a spectacular win against Tamil Nadu in the semifinal.

Mumbai needed just 33 minutes on the final day to knock off the last three Hyderabad wickets. Rajesh Pawar helped himself to career best figures of 7/103 on what was supposed to be a green top. Mumbai went into the match with four seamers and ironically it was the slow left arm spinner who had the best returns.

A disappointed Mohammed Azharuddin admitted that they were outplayed in all departments. "We batted badly, fielded badly and bowled badly. On the first day we really should have bowled Mumbai out for about 350." When he was asked if travelling by train all the way to Mumbai from Hyderabad made a difference he said "The boys were very tired after that journey. It was almost 12 hours long and at the end of a season it would have made sense to fly. The team has been working very hard all season and has been doing well. It would have been a good gesture on the part of the board to fly the players for the final. That's the kind of support we expect from the board."

The contrast was obvious for all to see when an overjoyed Dighe met the press. "We've played very well all season and I'm very happy that we won." He was full of praise for all his teammates but reserved the best for Tendulkar, "Sachin was a great motivating factor. What can I say about his commitment, dedication and approach to the game?"

The coach of the Mumbai team Ashok Mankad was proud of his boys. "I am so filled with different emotions. Contentment, fulfillment and a sense of redeeming ourselves for last year's performance fills me now."

The last match of the domestic season ended on a high note for the home team. As one journalist whispered, the Ranji Trophy has come back home.