Mumbai defeated Vidarbha in hard-fought finals to win the Ranji Trophy title played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 14th March 2024.
After being asked to bat first by Vidarbha captain, Akshay Wadkar, Mumbai openers Shaw and Lalwani got off to a good start putting on 81 runs for the opening wicket. After the fall of the first wicket, Mumbai kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Shardul Thakur showed his fighting spirit making a quickfire 75 that helped Mumbai post 224. The pitch had some assistance for the bowlers.
Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur took the first three wickets to leave Vidarbha at 31 for 3 at the end of day 1. Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani showed their class picking wickets to bowl out Vidarbha for 105 with a massive lead of 119 runs.
Mumbai did not start the 2nd innings well, losing the wickets of Shaw and Lalwani. Musheer Khan and captain Ajinkya Rahane played with positive intent keeping the scoreboard ticking making sure that Mumbai did not allow Vidarbha a chance into the game. Mumbai ended the 2nd day at 141 for 2
Rahane scored fifty and put on 130 runs for the 3rd wicket with Musheer Khan. Musheer Khan looked composed reaching his century while Shams Mulani also scored fifty to help Mumbai set a daunting target of 538 runs. Musheer Khan was eventually dismissed for 136. Mumbai posted 418 runs in the 2nd innings.
Chasing 538 runs to win, Vidarbha ended the 3rd day on 10 for 0. Shams Mulani got the initial breakthrough getting rid of Taide. Kotian then dismissed other Vidarbha opener quickly Dhruv Shorey to leave them struggling. Â Aman Mokhande and Karun Nair steadied the ship before Musheer Khan dismissed Mokhande ending 54 runs partnership for 3rd wicket.
Kotian then got rid of Yash Rathod with a lovely delivery to leave Vidarbha in some trouble. Karun Nair and captain Akshay Wadkar looked composed with their batting. Right at the stroke of the day’s play, Musheer Khan got rid of Karun Nair. Karun and Wadkar added 90 runs for the 5th wicket.
Mumbai bowlers struggled as Wadkar and Harsh Dubey stitched a superb partnership till the lunch break. Kotian eventually ended Vidarbha resistance as Wadkar was dismissed for a well-made 102. Wadkar and Harsh added 130 runs for the 6th wicket.
Tushar Deshpande struck getting rid of Harsh Dubey. Mumbai bowlers kept taking wickets and bowled out Vidarbha for 368. Dhawal Kulkarni had the perfect gift for getting rid of Umesh Yadav.
For his 136 and 2 for 48 in the second innings, Musheer Khan was named the player of the match award.
Mumbai Won the First Ranji Trophy title in 2015/16.
Mumbai had a dominating season during the 2023-24. They finished top of Group B with 37 points including 5 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw with 37 points.
The second quarterfinals between Mumbai and Baroda ended in a draw. Mumbai made 384 thanks to Musheer Khan’s brilliant double century. They bundled out Baroda for 348 in their first innings taking a lead of 36 runs. Mumbai batters continued their domination as they made 569 runs in the 2nd innings. The match ended in a draw with Baroda scoring 121 for 3 as the captains called off play.
Mumbai came up with a dominating performance in the semi-finals against Tamil Nadu. Shardul Thakur and Co skittled out Tamil Nadu for 146 in their first innings. Shardul Thakur produced a magical innings scoring 109, Tanush Kotian 89, and Musheer Khan 55 helped Mumbai post 378. An all-round performance by Mumbai bowlers skittled Tamil Nadu for 162 in their 2nd innings to help them win by an innings and 70 runs.
With this victory, Mumbai won a record 42nd title in Ranji Trophy history. It is their first title since the 2015/2016 season.
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