Mumbai clinch Ranji Trophy for 42nd time, beat Vidarbha by 169 runs in final Mumbai: The domestic giants Mumbai ended their eight-year trophy drought by lifting a record-extending 42nd Ranji Trophy title, beating a valiant Vidarbha by 169 runs on the fifth and final day of a thoroughly engrossing summit clash at the iconic Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.
Playing the 48th final in the 90 years of the tournament history, young gun Musheer Khan (136), prolific batter Shreyas Iyer (95) and skipper Ajinkya Rahane's (73) valuable contributions with the bat helped Mumbai to set the record chase for the visitors. Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar (102) and the unheralded Harsh Dubey (65) not only tried to avoid the inevitable but brought the side back into the game, keeping Mumbai at bay for the entire first session. The Akshay Wadkar-led side had resumed the final day on 248 for five, needing another 290 runs to win and were bowled out for 368.
In a contest that ebbed and flowed, Mumbai emerged triumphant after Vidarbha frustrated them for long periods of play in the last two days. Wadkar not just led from the front, but kept the score ticking with his first century of the year and crossed the 600-run mark this season. Dubey, who is mainly known for his left-arm spin, brought up only his second fifty of the first-class career.
Together, they forged the longest stand of the innings, consuming 255 balls in 194 minutes from day four until a little after the resumption of the second session on the final day.
Wadkar fell shortly after play resumed as Tanush Kotian (4/95) trapped him in front of the stumps to provide his side a much-needed breakthrough. And then, Mumbai bowlers quickly wrapped up Vidarbha's innings who have now lost the Ranji Trophy final on the third instance after winning two titles.
Tushar Deshpande continued to employ the short ball to dismiss Dubey (65 off 128 balls) and Aditya Sarwate, who missed the majority of the game owing to a back spasm. While Kotian cleaned up Yash Thakur (6) for his fourth wicket, Dhawal Kulkarni signed off from all forms of cricket with the final wicket of Umesh Yadav for a fairytale ending his career.
Kotian received the Player of the Tournament award for his brilliant all-round performance. He amassed 502 runs and claimed 29 wickets for the hosts, playing a pivotal role in their trophy-winning campaign. Musheer Khan (136 runs and 2 wickets), brother of Sarfaraz Khan, received a Player of the Match Award for a brilliant century in the second innings of the summit clash.
Dhawal Kulkarni got felicitated by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for his resounding career as he retires on a high, with a Ranji Trophy triumph. He received a shield from MCA for his immense contribution to Mumbai cricket.
'MCA president Amol Kale and Apex Council have decided to double the Ranji Trophy prize money. The MCA will pay an additional sum of five crore of rupees to the winning Mumbai Ranji Trophy team. It has been a great year for the MCA as the association has won 7 titles and we have made it to the knockout stage in all age groups in BCCI tournaments," MCA secretary Ajinkya Naik said in a media statement.
Brief scores:
Mumbai: 224 & 418 beat
Vidarbha: 105 & 368 in 134.4 overs (Atharva Taide 32, Aman Mokhade 32, Karun Nair 74, Akshay Wadkar 102; Tanush Kotian 4/95) by 169 runs.
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