Vidarbha defeated Madhya Pradesh by 62 runs to enter the finals of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season on Wednesday, March 6 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur. Their win set up a Maharashtra Derby for the finals as they will take on Mumbai in the summit clash.
Madhya Pradesh needed 91 runs on the final day with four wickets in hand. However, they could only manage 30 runs, before getting all out for 258. Akshay Wakhare and Yash Thakur were the pick of the bowlers as they took three wickets each in the innings. Aditya Sarwate and Aditya Thakare also picked two each.
Earlier in the match, Vidarbha put on 170 runs batting first. Karun Nair scored a half-century in the innings, while Avesh Khan took a four-wicket haul. In response, Madhya Pradesh took an 82-run first-innings lead, on the back of Himanshu Mantri’s century. Yash Rathod stood tall for Vidarbha as he slammed 141 runs helping them set a target of 320. He also won the Player of the Match award.
Timber Strikes 🔥
Vidarbha wrapped it up early today, picking up the remaining 4️⃣ wickets to enter the final. 👌@IDFCFIRSTBank | #VIDvMP | #RanjiTrophy | #SF1
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/KsLiJPuYMZ pic.twitter.com/ny6DYBQ7bM
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 6, 2024
Wankhede to host Ranji Trophy finals
Mumbai will take on Vidarbha in the finals of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy finals at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, starting from March 10. They defeated Tamil Nadu under three days by an innings and 70 runs to seal a spot in the final. Mumbai topped the league stages, winning five out of the seven games. Their only loss this season has come against Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium. Meanwhile, Vidarbha also topped Elite Group A, with 33 points. They won five matches and only lost to Saurashtra in the league stages.
The upcoming final will be the third appearance for Vidarbha. They won consecutive titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Meanwhile, this will be Mumbai’s 48th appearance in the finals. They are the most successful team in the history of the tournament, having won 41 titles.
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