Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni (left) celebrates the wicket of Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara during the Ranji Trophy final in Pune last February

The ironical side of cricket afflicts the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team thanks to the Indian cricket board's decision to schedule matches at neutral venues for all teams. The defending champions will open their domestic season against Tamil Nadu at Lahli in the state of Haryana while Haryana, the 1991 Ranji champions, take on Services in Mumbai at the Cricket Club of India.

Lahli which is 1500 kms away from Mumbai, is not exactly unknown. It was here where Sachin Tendulkar played his last first-class match for Mumbai against Haryana in 2013. Mumbai, the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions will take on Abhinav Mukund's Tamil Nadu at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium from today.