Mumbai Clinches 42nd Ranji Trophy Title After Eight Years Drought vs Vidarbha: Final Analysis
Mumbai clinched a thrilling victory to claim their 42nd Ranji Trophy title, ending an eight-year drought.
Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande played pivotal roles in breaking Vidarbha‘s resistance on the fifth afternoon, securing a memorable win for Mumbai.
Vidarbha 105 (Rathod 27, Kotian 3-7, Kulkarni 3-15) and 368 (Wadkar 102, Nair 74, Kotian 4-95, Musheer 2-48) were defeated by Mumbai 224 (Shardul Thakur 75, Yash Thakur 3-54, Dubey 3-62) and 418 (Musheer 136, Iyer 95, Dubey 5-144) by a combined score of 169 runs.
On the fifth afternoon, Kotian and Deshpande overcame Vidarbha’s resistance.
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. After scoring five wickets in the fourth innings during his maiden Ranji final against Uttar Pradesh in 2009, Kulkarni concluded his career as a genuine domestic mainstay for Mumbai.
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 care of Mumbai’s seam attack going forward. Due to an injury, Avasthi was unable to participate in the final; Kulkarni took his place.
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For the second consecutive day, Shreyas Iyer was sidelined due to a back ailment. However, Mumbai managed to regain their dominance in the country.
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. He 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.
Kotian had the option to cut After the off-spinner hit Dubey on the pads, Mumbai reviewed an on-field not-out ruling, cutting his innings short at 13. According to the tracker, the ball would have collided with a leg stump.
Then, on 17 and 18 against Kotian and Kulkarni, respectively, Dubey survived lbw appeals. In their 130-run stand for the sixth wicket, he kept Wadkar company.
Wadkar hit Kotian through extra-cover for a single, marking his first century of the season and second hundred in a Ranji final. 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 field. In addition to praising Kulkarni’s off-field services to the Mumbai team, Rahane presented him with the trophy at the post-match presentation, capping a spectacular outcome.
