The 'Khadoos' are back with a bang

Two seasons ago, the mighty Mumbai team was shown the door by an upbeat and unexpected Uttar Pradesh team in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy in their own backyard. Lots of heads rolled and the Mumbai Cricket Association came under tremendous pressure from former and present cricketers for putting up a dismal performance.

Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli gave Mumbai their 34th Ranji title last season which also marked the end of Abey Kuruvilla's first class career. The Irani trophy at the start of the new season was not a very pleasant outing for Mumbai, VVS Laxman walking away with the Irani trophy. Signs of another disastrous season were visible and heads were low after the Irani Trophy debacle.

The season marked the return of all-rounder Robin Morris to the Mumbai side after a brief stint with Orissa. Robin's inclusion in the team was doubtful after the ten wicket defeat in the Irani Trophy match. The team management however gave him the nod and he was on his way to Baroda for the Ranji One Day tournament. Robin let the score card answer his critics. He plundered the bowling attacks, piling 257 runs from his four innings at an average of 128. He put his medium swingers to good effect, bagging seven wickets in the tournament.

It was a testing season for fellow opener Wasim Jaffer who was omitted for the Test series against Zimbabwe. Wasim was branded a Test player and not suitable for the limited version of the game. The tall lanky Mumbai opener let his bat do the talking for him in the One Day tournament. Wasim amassed 302 runs at an average of 151. His scores included an unbeaten century in the final game against Baroda and three half centuries in the previous games.

The attitude and the body language of the players displayed that Mumbai was back to its winning ways. Mumbai chased in all the four matches and rampaged home in blistering style. On their demolition path, they picked up a ten wicket victory against Maharashtra and two nine wicket victories against Gujarat and Baroda.

The 'Khadoos' cricketers, as they are known for their grit and determination backed by confidence, are back to their winning ways and in great style. Mumbai suffered a setback last season, with the retirement of medium pacer Abey Kuruvilla but Santosh Saxena has filled in the gap and has matured as a medium pacer for Mumbai. Rajesh Pawar, Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule form a formidable spin trio that gives excellent support to the new ball attack of Paras Mhambrey, Santosh Saxena and all-rounders Amit Dani and Robin Morris.

The news is that the team is back and all eyes are set on them to bring the glory of Indian cricket back to Mumbai.