Image Credit- PTI
On the fifth
afternoon, Mumbai overcame Vidarbha’s resistance to win their 42nd Ranji Trophy
and first since 2015–16. Vidarbha’s hopes were dashed as fast bowler Tushar
Deshpande and spin-bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian dismissed them for 368 in
a historic chase of 538, following a wicketless morning session with skipper
Akshay Wadkar and debutant Harsh Dubey.
In a game that happened to be his final one for Mumbai, it was only fitting
that veteran Dhawal Kulkarni secured the victory. With the tremendous support
of the Wankhede crowd and skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Kulkarni bowled Umesh Yadav
to give himself a memorable farewell.
Deshpande, who
intimidated Vidarbha with around-the-wicket bouncers on the fifth day, and
Mohit Avasthi, who shared Mumbai’s highest wicket-taking total this season with
35 strikes in eight games, will take over for him as Mumbai’s attack manager.
Due to an injury, Avasthi was unable to participate in the final; Kulkarni took
his place.
Kotian was named Player-of-the-tournament after finishing the season with 29
wickets and 502 runs. On the last day, Kotian was the one who gave Mumbai the
opening they needed when he got a clean blow from around the wicket and pinned
Wadkar for 102 after lunch. Kotian quickly overthrew Yash Thakur to expedite
Mumbai’s triumph.
Wadkar and Dubey had
forced Mumbai to flex its muscles in the hopes of making a breakthrough earlier
in the morning. To dead-ball Mumbai’s spinners, Wadkar in particular was either
right front or right back. At the other end, Dubey showed greater daring by
hitting left-arm fingerspinner Shams Mulani with slog sweeps. After hitting
Mulani with a slog sweep over wide long-on, Dubey was able to reach his second
half-century in the first class in his eighth game.
Wadkar mentioned
that he tapped Kotian through extra-cover for a single, which was his first of
the season. The friends and family of the Vidarbha footballers showered him
with acclaim as he dropped to his knees and raised his arms in prayer.
Their joy was short-lived as Wadkar and Dubey were removed in consecutive
overs. Aditya Sarwate, suffering from back pain, came to bat at number eight,
but Deshpande outwitted him for three runs. Deshpande continued to attack the
lower-order batters with short balls, reaching speeds of up to 140 kph.
After taking the last wicket, Kulkarni guided Mumbai off the pitch. Rahane
praised Kulkarni’s off-field contributions to the Mumbai team during the
post-match ceremony and gave him the trophy to cap off a dream finish.