Mumbai play Baroda in inaugural West Zone twenty20 cricket

Mumbai, Apr 2 (UNI) The inaugural West Zone twenty20 cricket tournament will kick off tomorrow at the Wankhede stadium with hosts Mumbai taking on Baroda in the first match in the morning, while Gujarat clash with Maharashtra in the second tie in the afternoon session.

Saurashtra, the other team in the five-day tournament, will battle it out against Maharashtra at the Brabourne Stadium on April 4.

The tournament assumes significance as this is the first domestic twenty20 tournament in the run-up to the twenty20 World Cup, slated to be held in South Africa in September and these performances will be taken into account while selecting the national team for the World Cup.

However, a lot of sheen has been taken off from the tournament with the absence of stars Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar from the Mumbai team, as the Mumbai selectors decided to give them rest after returning from a disastrous World Cup in the Carribean.

The players will don coloured clothing and matches will be played with white balls supplied by the Indian cricket board. Black sightscreens will be in place at both stadiums.

The West Zone tourney will end on April 8 with the top two teams advancing to the national knockout tourney.

UNI