After the Mumbai batsmen had spluttered to post a decent score, Mhambrey and Kuruvilla, operating in tandem, made mockery of the competitive nature of the match. Chasing 247, Vadodara were looking down the barrel in the sixth over itself after the Mumbai strike pair had blown the top with just six runs on the board.

The 26-year-old Mhambrey, who had earlier exhibited his batting skills in Mumbai's late charge, provided a stimulating start by claiming opener Rayapeth Swaroop (0) with his very first delivery. Kuruvilla, snared dangerman Atul Bedade (1) before Mhambrey induced Connor Williams' (4) downfall.

Wrecked by the triple strikes, Vadodara found runs hard to come by, a fact vividly demonstrated by their score (16-3) when Kuruvilla(6-4-7-1) and Mhambrey (6-2-9-2) ended their first spells respectively.

Jacob Martin (36: 90b, 97m, 3x4) and Himanshu Jadhav, who logged an unbeaten 55 (101b, 122m, 3x4, 1x6) only delayed the inevitable as Mumbai underlined their potential to relaunch their quest for zonal success.

Earlier, the basis for Mumbai's total, after being put into bat, were laid by three fruitful associations. Opener Sameer Dighe (43: 62b, 97m, 6x4) and skipper Vinod Kambli (41: 44b, 68m, 8x4) strung 73 runs in 14.1 overs for the second wicket, while Jatin Paranjape (40: 57b, 74m, 1x4) and Praveen Amre (24) tallied 44 in 9.5 overs for the third wicket. But the most impressive was the eighth-wicket alliance of 55 runs in 51 balls between Mhambrey (29 not out) and Sairaj Bahutule (28) which gave a semblance of respectability to the total after a series of needless run-outs had threatened to stunt the initiative gained earlier.

Mhambrey and Bahutule triggered a mayhem in the rival camp by amassing 49 runs in the last five overs,spurring Mumbai into the comfort zone.

Later in the day, Kambli waxed eloquent on Mhambrey and Kuruvilla's displays which he hoped should inspire the team in overcoming their sagging fortunes.

``This victory should help our bowlers and especially our batsmen into giving better performances,'' he opined. The Mumbai skipper, however, expressed his displeasure at the team's batting display. ``We batted badly. I was expecting a minimum score of 275 plus. Thanks to Paras and Sai we managed a respectable score.''

The dashing southpaw, while commenting on the condition of his ankle said: ``It has improved considerably.'' He revealed he would only be able to make himself available for National selection after playing a few more matches.The four-day Ranji Trophy match between the two teams commences tomorrow.

Scoreboard

Mumbai: Sameer Dighe run out 43 (62b, 97m, 6x4), Amit Pagnis lbw Chawda 5 (16b, 19m), Vinod Kambli run out 41 (44b, 68m, 8x4), Jatin Paranjape c Bedade b Siva 40 (57b, 74m, 1x4),Pravin Amre c Chawda b Swaroop 24 (33b, 29m, 1x4), Manoj Joglekar run out 3 (12b, 11m), Rajesh Sutar c sub (Prayan Dave) b Swaroop 14 (33b, 27m, 1x4), Sairaj Bahutule c sub (Dave) b Jacob 28 (22b, 32m, 1x4, 1x6), Paras Mhambrey not out 29 (25b, 30m, 1x4, 2x6), Abey Kuruvilla not out 0 (1m). Extras: (b1, lb6, w8, nb4) 19. Total: (for 8 wkts off 50 overs, 196 mins) 246

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-99, 3-108, 4-152, 5-161, 6-184, 7-187, 8-242Bowling: Chawda 9-1-48-1 (5w), Wakaskar 5-0-38-0 (4nb), Kadri 5-1-16-0 (1w), Swaroop 10-1-36-2, Sivaramakrishnan 10-0-37-1, Arothe 10-0-45-0 (1w), Martin 1-0-19-1

Vadodara: Connor Williams c Dighe b Mhambrey 4 (18b, 26m, 1x4), Rayapeth Swaroop lbw Mhambrey 0 (1b, 6m), Atul Bedade c sub (Wasim Jaffer) b Kuruvilla 1 (10b, 14m), Jacob Martin c Mhambrey b Sutar 36 (90b, 97m, 3x4), Tushar Arothe b Kulkarni 11 (26b, 42m, 1x4), Himanshu Jadhav not out 55 (101b, 122m, 3x4, 1x6), Moinuddin Kadri lbw Mhambrey 3 (8b, 12m), Milap Mewada run out 2 (10b, 15m), Laxman Sivaramakrishnan c&bSutar 1 (9b, 10m), Yogendra Wakaskar not out 10 (30b, 32m, 1x4). Extras: (w3, nb3) 6. Total: (for 8 wkts off 50 overs, 192 mins) 129

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-6, 3-6, 4-33, 5-70, 6-76, 7-88, 8-94Bowling: Kuruvilla 10-4-22-1 (1nb, 2w), Mhambrey 8-3-12-3 (2nb, 1w), Sutar 10-0-42-2, Kulkarni 10-0-25-1, Bahutule 10-1-22-0, Joglekar 1-0-2-0, Amre 1-0-4-0.