Pace battery awaits Hyderabad

Mumbai is getting ready. The players, the coach, the press and the fans are lying in wait for Azharuddin and his boys. The Hyderabad team arriving for the climax of the domestic season are over five hours late. One would think the team would take the earliest flight to Mumbai. With the Mumbai boys sweating it out in the nets on the morning before the Ranji Trophy final scheduled to commence at the Wankhede stadium on Wednesday, the Hyderabad team had not yet arrived in the city.

The Mumbai team practicing were a joy to watch. Driven by the professionalism of Sachin Tendulkar, who arrived for practice a good half an hour before anyone else, the team went through fielding drills with gusto. Cheering and clapping as everyone had a shy at the stumps, they were watched over by coach Ashok Mankad.

The pitch at the Wankhede bears very little resemblance to the one served up for the match against Tamil Nadu. The grass is back on the top and a hard surface welcomes batsmen to the crease. That Mumbai will go into the match with four fast bowlers is a foregone conclusion given Hyderabad's relative strengths and weaknesses. Ashok Mankad, talking about the visitors, said "they are excellent players of spin. However they are slightly vulnerable against fast bowling." So Mumbai will go into the match with Ajit Agarkar, Santosh Saxena, Abey Kuruvilla and Paras Mhambrey. When asked about Mhambrey's fitness, Mankad said he was "extremely happy with his performance" while admitting that "he may be slightly short of match practice."

Mumbai will look to win the toss and put Hyderabad in to bat. Mankad also added that they had the batting to back up their bowlers. The only thing in doubt now is the fifth bowler. Will Nilesh Kulkarni make it back to the side or has Rajesh Pawar done enough to keep his place? Rajesh Pawar's all round ability will hold him in good stead. As will his tenacity. Mankad added "Pawar's attitude is excellent. He is ferociously competitive."

For Nilesh Kulkarni, who is considered by many to be a big match player, two things will support his cause. First, his experience. Secondly, the fact that he is a good fielder in the gully region. With four mediumpacers in the side, the gully position becomes crucial.

Mumbai will use their four mediumpacers in short spells. The spinner will be used as a stock bowler. Azharuddin and VVS Laxman better be prepared for a thorough working over. Agarkar and Saxena are bowling with good pace and neither was shy to send down the short pitched stuff against Tamil Nadu. Kuruvilla, though considerably slower, is a master at moving the ball off the wicket with off cutters and leg cutters. And one is sure that Mhambrey will be right on the spot.

With a heavy reliance on Azhar, Laxman and Vanka Pratap, the visitors have to steal the initiative very early on to fight off a bristling Mumbai side.

The teams:

Hyderabad: Mohd. Azharuddin (captain), Venkatapathy Raju (vicecaptain), VVS Laxman, Vanka Pratap, Kanwaljit Singh, Narenderpal Singh, A Nanda Kishore, Youraj Singh, Riaz Sheikh, Parth Satwalkar, Daniel Manohar, Shivaji Yadav, Arjun Yadav, Fiaz Ahmed, Vinay Kumar and Raghuram.

Mumbai: Sameer Dighe (captain), Amol Mazumdar, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Wasim Jaffer, Jatin Paranjpe, Ajit Agarkar, Santosh Saxena, Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey, Rajesh Pawar, Nilesh Kulkarni, Ramesh Powar, Amit Dani, Sriram Kannan and Amit Pagnis