KKR's most successful leader Gautam Gambhir is back in his second innings as a mentor. His partnership with head coach Chandrakant Pandit, a shrewd tactician in domestic circuit, will be the key to their revival.
However, the hosts cannot be complacent and need to go all out with guns blazing when they take the field in the four-day match at the Wankhede Stadium.
'I was mentally disturbed and thinking too much. I spoke to them (Jayawardene, Tendulkar and Gambhir) and expressed myself about what had happened in the Ranji season, they shared their experience which helped me'
Six years hence, that child artiste, Digvijay Deshmukh, now all of 21, got picked at the IPL auction by Mumbai Indians for Rs 20 lakh.
A round-up of results from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
Jay Shah was seen having a light-hearted chat with Kishan and national captain Rohit Sharma.
His childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, says he never really had to do anything special to mould the driven all-rounder except for "working on his mental strength".
A young but mighty Mumbai have history and form firmly on their side when they chase their 41st Ranji Trophy title by locking horns with Saurashtra, who are taking a rare shot at domestic cricket's biggest prize, in the summit showdown beginning in Pune from Wednesday. While Mumbai will be appearing in their 45th final of the top domestic tournament, it is only the second time that Saurashtra are in the title clash. Incidentally, it was Mumbai who put paid to Saurashtra's hopes of a maiden triumph by wrapping the final in three days in 2012-13. That was the only time Saurashtra came close to the title. Mumbai won that match by an innings and 125 runs for their 40th trophy. Three seasons later, the scene remains more or less the same and it will take a huge effort from Saurashtra to upset a side which has almost won more titles than the rest of India combined. For the record, since 1990-91, Mumbai haven't lost any of the 10 finals they have played. Mumbai have at least five of those who played in the earlier final in the squad -- Aditya Tare, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar.
'You only need to make that initial breakthrough. I believe you are bound to settle down once you are in the top bracket, unless you are dumb,' says Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar.
The other members of selection committee are Sanjay Patil, Ravindra Thaker, Zulfiqar Parkar and Ravi Kulkarni.
With KL Rahul struggling to find his form, the Irani Cup can help Mayank Agarwal find his way back into the national team.
'The world is yet to watch him, show his prowess as a batter, but given the chance he will do a great job.'
'I was confident that I would surely get into any of the IPL teams, but I was not picked.'
RCB all-rounder Swapnil Singh, who entered the IPL in the second half and made an immediate impact, opened up on his "emotional" cricketing journey that saw him experience numerous ups and downs and his relationship with star batter Virat Kohli.
Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League match against Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar hailed skipper Shreyas Iyer for his mental strength and positive approach to life.
Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad has come down heavily on the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its selectors, saying ignoring Sarfaraz Khan for the upcoming Test series against Australia is "unfair" and "an abuse of domestic cricket".
It proved a narrow escape for 40-time champions Mumbai as they squeezed into the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy on the basis of their first innings lead after their Group A match against Karnataka ended in a draw on Monday.
Factionalism is nothing new to Bihar cricket and the ugly infighting that has been running well over two decades has robbed the state of some notable talents, besides attracting the ire of the BCCI.
All eyes will be on the opening fixture between defending champions Saurashtra and record 41-time champions Mumbai in Ahmedabad with Rahane and Pujara on either side, aiming to make the big scores that have deserted them at the Test level for a while.
He played 85 first class games and scored nearly 4500 runs(4376) at an average of 35 plus and seven hundred including a double ton.
'Rohit had so much talent that he would have made it anyhow, under any coach, but I am happy I was able to guide him.'
Set a target of 206, Saurashtra folded for 127 in 58.4 overs, giving Vidarbha their second title triumph in the country's marquee first-class tournament.
The decision now rests with Kishan on whether he wants to heed the advice of one of India's greatest cricketers and work towards resurrecting his career or just be content playing the IPL.
A summary of Day 2 action in the Ranji Trophy matches, played at various venues across the country.
'No one makes someone a cricketer. As a coach, you can only guide them.'
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former India batsmen Vinod Kambli and Pravin Amre on Thursday fondly recalled the memories of their childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar at a condolence meeting in Mumbai.
A round up of the fourth and final day's action of the Ranji Trophy matches on Sunday.
Smriti hit 102 off 61 balls as Storms chased down 154-run target set by the home team in 18.4 overs.
A summary of the opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches played across the country.
Has Lad offered any tips to Railways bowlers on how to dismiss Siddhesh?
Rajasthan Royals has appointed domestic stalwart Amol Muzumdar as their batting coach for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning April 7.
'He builds confidence in players. He has the knack of motivating people.' 'A few good words from Ravi and that player will be an altogether different player in minutes.'
India's chairman of selectors urged the BCCI to appoint a bowling coach for the team.
During the current Ranji Trophy season, a star son has been launched. But for 25-year-old Agni Dev Chopra, he never had the luxury of a re-take that his film-maker father Vidhu Vinod Chopra has had throughout his illustrious career.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played across the country
A round-up of Tuesday's play in the Ranji Trophy.
'In Mumbai cricket, your scores are only counted only if you score a hundred or more, below that doesn't mean anything.'
Rajput said that India will miss pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home, if he is ruled out of the event through injury.
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