Finally, Mumbai ended their wait of 8 years by defeating Vidarbha by 169 runs in the finals of the Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede stadium. This is the 42nd time when Mumbai has won the title of Ranji trophy. While chasing the huge target of 538 runs, Vidarbha fought hard in the second innings but eventually got bowled out for 368 runs on the 5th day of the match.
In the finals of the 5th day, Vidarbha gave a strong fight to their opponents as Akshay Wadkar, who is the captain, led his team’s resistance against Mumbai alongside Harsh Dube. The duo stayed firm at the keys while annoying the home team, as the first session gave them 81 runs without the loss of any wicket.
After the lunch break, Wadkar showed his batting skills with an amazing sanctuary while giving momentum into the innings for Vidarbha. However, as time went on, Tanush Kotian took the Wicket of Wadkar. After the departure of the team captain the pressure built up on the batting line of Vidarbha. Even Dubey, who had shown some resilience by scoring 65 runs in 128 deliveries, cannot handle the pressure of the scoreboard properly.
As the innings progressed, the bowlers of Mumbai Titan had their grip on the game, and with the little resistance left from Vidharba’s lower order, Mumbai efficiently wrapped their innings in only the next 25 deliveries.
In a major moment, Dhawal Kulkarni marked his final domestic match and was handed the ball by Ajinkya Rahane. After the fall of the 9th wicket, Kulkarni wasted no time and swiftly took the wicket of Umesh Yadav in only the third delivery of the spell, which ultimately held Mumbai in securing their 42nd title.
Kulkarni gave the best conclusion to his brilliant domestic career as he played an important role in the victory of Mumbai. In the first innings of the match, he had taken three wickets while registering in only 11 overs, a brilliant figure of 3/15.
This was the first Ranji trophy title of Mumbai since 2016, with the domestic joints extending their lead at the top of the list with the most titles in the first-class tournament. None of the other teams has won this many Ranjy trophies, with Karnataka being a distant second with only eight titles.
Brief scores: Mumbai: 224 & 418 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.
