Despite being light-years away from their best form, they continue to inspire their respective teams - Rahul Dravid, in an active and visible role as the passionate leader and Tendulkar, as every Mumbai Indians player concedes, for being the guiding light.

Dravid joined the franchise three years ago and has managed to successfully convert Warne's Royals into Rahul's Royals after a topsy-turvy year that brought exhilarating highs and crushing lows. He had said at the start of the tournament that the team was closer because of the spot-fixing crisis they faced and that has shown in their undefeated campaign in this tournament. Their non-flashy players excelled playing a similar non-flashy brand of cricket. Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson have collectively stood up to every batting challenge efficiently, but it's their bowling that has surprised most, with inspirational performances from inexperienced players like Pravin Tambe, Rahul Shukla and Vikramjeet Malik.

All that success, however, has come at home - Royals won only three matches outside Jaipur in the IPL this year. Add to that the absence of Hodge from the XI due to the injury he sustained in the semi-final and it appears the Royals have a tough task against a formidable opponent under a new set of conditions.

Mumbai, on the other hand, have already had a chance to get used to the conditions in Delhi after playing their last two matches there. Rohit Sharma, their captain, had said after their semi-final win that it was to their advantage, because one needed time to adjust to the slower and lower pitches at the Kotla.

In the two matches, Mumbai's power-packed batting, apart from a stern test from Sunil Narine, excelled. A lot had to do with the team combination they hit upon midway during the IPL when Ricky Ponting, the then captain, dropped himself and was replaced by an imposing Dwayne Smith. Rohit was handed the captaincy and he relished the role, taking Mumbai to their first IPL title. He now has a chance to make it a double this year. They will be tested by a team that is now synonymous with resilience.