The 20-year-old Pawar complimented his first innings' 6-19 to return a career-best match haul of 11-68 as Mumbai wrapped up the four-day encounter with 21 minutes and a day to spare.

Bowling in tandem for 57.4 overs, the diminutive Pawar and the lanky Kulkarni paid a left-handed compliment to Paras Mhambrey's gritty ton. The duo was supported by Manoj Joglekar and Wasim Jaffer, who plucked three catches each.

Maharashtra's meek surrender could hardly have been imagined after the opening stand of 79 by Surendra Bhave (49: 136b, 195m, 7x4) and Dhiraj Jadhav (33: 110b, 155m, 3x4). Once debutant Jadhav played all over Kulkarni's delivery, the rest simply caved in. Ten wickets falling for 69depicts the batting bungle of a side which failed miserably in improving upon its first innings tally of 142.

The Maharashtra batsmen did no justice to the tenacity exhibited by medium-pacer Iqbal Siddiqui, who put the side on an even keel after it had been dismissed for a measly total in the first innings. The 25-year-old Siddiqui's spirited 7-69 went in vain, thanks to the insipid batting display of his team.

Resuming at 291-9, the Mumbai innings lasted only 17 minutes, centurion Mhambrey edging Siddiqui to the slips. But by then, Mhambrey (117: 173b, 224m, 16x4, 3x6) had ensured a 159-run lead. The eulogy on Mhambrey's exploits wouldn't be complete without a mention of Sriram Kannan (35), Nilesh Kulkarni (5) and Santosh Saxena (0 not out), who stood firm during the revival that saw the last three wickets adding 162 runs.

The victory over arch-rivals Maharashtra should stand Mumbai in good stead, as they travel to Vadodara for their next match beginning November 22. Mumbai have a score to settle asthey had been humiliated by Vadodara at Wankhede last year, paving way for one of their worst showings in the National Championship. The onus once again lies on the Mumbai top-order batsmen.

Coach Ashok Mankad was not one to wallow in success, when he indicated that ``the team's batting has been a cause for concern.'' Terming the victory as ``confidence-enhancing'', Mankad said: ``Even last season we had started on a similar note (with victory over Gujarat). Hopefully, we won't end up as we did then.'' Touche!

SCOREBOARD
Maharashtra (1st innings): 142
Mumbai (1st innings; overnight 291-9):
Manoj Joglekar c Bhave b Siddiqui 9 (68b, 138m, 1x4), Wasim Jaffer c Kondhalkar b Siddiqui 18 (47b, 68m, 3x4), Jatin Paranjpe c Bhave b Siddiqui 18 (39b, 50m, 2x4), Amol Muzumdar c Kamtekar b Siddiqui 25 (75b, 132m, 4x4), Amol Rane lbw b Kulkarni 19 (28b, 51m, 3x4), Vinod Kambli c Nair b Lande 29 (38b, 55m, 5x4, 1x6), Paras Mhambrey c Kale b Siddiqui 117 (173b, 224m, 16x4, 3x6), RajeshPawar c Jadhav b Siddiqui 0 (11b, 18m), Sriram Kannan c Kondhalkar b Siddiqui 35 (98b, 102m, 5x4, 1x6), Nilesh Kulkarni c Kondhalkar b Kulkarni 4 (27b, 43m), Santosh Saxena not out 0 (32b, 53m); Extras: (16lb, 11nb) 27.
Total: (in 104.1 overs; 471 mins) 301.
Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Jaffer, 14.1 overs), 2-50 (Paranjpe, 24.3), 3-57 (Joglekar, 26.5), 4-89 (Rane, 36.3), 5-127 (Kambli, 47.4), 6-127 (Muzumdar, 48.3), 7-139 (Pawar, 52.2), 8-224 (Kannan, 80.3), 9-225 (Kulkarni, 90)
Bowling: Siddiqui 30.1-12-69-7, Nair 20-3-80-0 (6nb), Kulkarni 28-14-54-2, Kamtekar 8-3-20-0 (3nb), Lande 15-6-53-1, Sugwekar 2-0-9-0 (1nb), Bhave 1-1-0-0.

Maharashtra (2nd innings): Surendra Bhave c Joglekar b Pawar 49 (136b, 195m, 7x4), Dhiraj Jadhav b Kulkarni 33 (110b, 155m, 3x4), Abhijit Kale c Joglekar b Kulkarni 2 (15b, 13m), Shantanu Sugwekar c sub (Amit Dani) b Pawar 8 (35b, 39m, 1x4), Nikhil Dixit c Joglekar b Kulkarni 10 (61b, 83m), Indrajeet Kamtekar c Jaffer b Pawar 5 (11b, 13m,1x4), Satyen Lande c Jaffer b Kulkarni 1 (19b, 16m), Sanjay Kondhalkar c Jaffer b Kulkarni 23 (71b, 71m, 3x4), Iqbal Siddiqui c Saxena b Pawar 9 (10b, 11m, 2x4), Milind Kulkarni c Saxena b Pawar 0 (7b, 7m), Sachin Nair not out 1 (7b, 12m); Extras: (3lb, 4nb) 7.
Total: (in 79.4 overs; 312 mins) 148.
Fall of wickets: 1-79 (Jadhav, 35.2), 2-81 (Kale, 39.2), 3-93 (Bhave, 46.3), 4-98 (Sugwekar, 50.4), 5-103 (Kamtekar, 54.2), 6-106 (Lande, 59.2), 7-127 (Dixit, 71.1), 8-140 (Siddiqui, 74.2), 9-145 (Kulkarni, 76.3).
Bowling: Mhambrey 5-3-10-0, Saxena 9-1-25-0 (1nb), Kannan 4-0-17-0 (3nb), Kulkarni 32.4-13-44-5, Pawar 29-13-49-5.
Results Mumbai won by an innings and 11 runs.