NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 10: Playmakers Basudeb Mondal and Aqueel Ansari have one thing in common: A frail physique, which is not really suited for a physical sport like soccer. But give them that spherical object and they would mesmerise you with their sublime skills.And, when Mohun Bagan clash with Mahindra United in the Allwyn Durand Cup final on Saturday, their strikers would definitely wait for those defence splitting through-passes or some delectable crosses from Basudeb and Aqueel. It is no secret that the success of both teams would largely revolve around these two mercurial medios. In other words, it will be a battle of the midfield generals.While Basudeb paired up with his Brazilian teammate Jose Barreto to outplay Churchill Brothers in the semis, Aqueel will be supported by Shanmugam Venkatesh in the central midfield. If Bagan's fragile defence regained composure after the semi-final, stopper-back Tapan Ghosh's absence has definitely blunted Mahindra's rear-guard, which failed to perform to their potential against East Bengal in the semis. Despite leading by a goal the `Oranjes' cracked under pressure to concede the eqaliser in the injury time and, had to wait for the sudden-death goal to knock out the Calcutta team.In upfront, both teams are on equal terms. Manjit Singh is in tremendous form and has already scored five goals in the tournament so far. His agility inside the box and Abbas Ali Rizvi's sprints down the flank are likely to pose the challenge for Bagan defence. RC Prakash, with three goals against his name so far, looked impressive along with Joao Dos Santos in the Bagan attack.Bagan and Mahindra have already met in their tournament opener in the quarter-final league. If that particular match, which ended in a 2-2 draw, is any guide of their strength then the title clash is definitely going to produce some fireworks. In that particular match, Bagan trailing 0-2, bounced back brilliantlly with two late goals to snatch a creditable draw against the Mumbai team.Since then Bagan have improved in every match. Their semi-final outing against Churchill Brothers must have even surprised Mahindra coach Shabbir Ali, who now have to chalk out a different gameplan for tomorrow. The kick-off is at 2.15 pm.Mohun Bagan (qualified as Group A runners): drew with Mahindra United 2-2, drew with Salgaocar 0-0, bt TFA 3-0; bt Churchill Brothers 2-0 in semis Mahindra United (qualified as Group A winners): drew with Mohun Bagan 2-2, bt TFA 5-0, bt Salgaocar 1-0, bt East Bengal in sudden-death after a 1-1 draw in semis Number of titles wonMohun Bagan: 15 (1953, 1959, 1960-joint with EB, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982-joint with EB, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1994)Mahindra United: one (1998)Number of finalsMohun Bagan: 25 timesMahindra United: Thrice
