Mumbai 500 not out

Mumbai will become the first side in the history of Ranji Trophy to play 500 matches when the Aditya Tare-led takes on Baroda in their Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Mumbai will become the first side in the history of Ranji Trophy to play 500 matches when the Aditya Tare-led takes on Baroda in their Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

"It is a special game for us. It is a great feeling to be playing the 500th Ranji Trophy game for a terrific side. It is going to be a great game for us," said Tare.

From producing stalwarts to winning the Ranji Trophy most number of times, Mumbai has always been the epicenter of Indian cricket. There were times when the Indian batting line-up was identical with the Mumbai one. Over the years, the dominance has waned out, partly because of cricket’s rapid growth in some of the remotest part of the country and its inability to match up to its own standards. Yet, an unmatchable respect surrounds the Mumbai team whenever it takes the field.

Before its 500^th match, here are some facts about the most successful Indian domestic side.

• Mumbai played its first Ranji Trophy in 1934-35 season as Bombay, which was also the inaugural edition of the prestigious tournament. It went on to become the first side to lay its hands on the trophy by winning the inaugural edition.
• Mumbai have won the Ranji Trophy 41 times – the most by any team, with the last title coming in 2015-16 season.
• Mumbai also holds the record for most tiles on the trot. They clinched 15 consecutive titles from 1958-59 to 1972-73.
• Former India cricketer Ajit Wadekar holds the record for the most number of Ranji Trophy wins as a captain. He led Mumbai to glory from 1968-69 to 1972-73.
• Mumbai’s 41 Ranji titles is also the second in the list of most domestic titles in world cricket. Australia’s New South Wales is at the top with 46 Sheffield Shields.
• Mumbai boasts of producing the most number of Indian cricketers. With the debut of Shreyas Iyer in the recently concluded T20 series against New Zealand, the number currently stands on 74.
• Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, the all time highest scorer of Ranji Trophy hails from Mumbai. In his 10274 runs, 9759 came while representing Mumbai.
• Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengaskar, Polly Umrigar, Vijay Merchant, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Agarkar, Rohit Sharam, Ajinkya Rahane are some of the stalwarts that Mumbai have produced.

Mumbai, who finished runners-up to maiden title winners Gujarat last season, are currently lying third on the table with 10 points, while Baroda are in the fifth spot with 4 points. Both have played three matches.