On the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (March 10), Dhawal Kulkarni (2-9) led some early strikes for the hosts to put Vidarbha on the back foot. Shardul Thakur (75 off 69) came up clutch for the second game in a row to save Mumbai from a dire situation.
Mumbai was sent in to bat and, thanks mainly to some careless new-ball bowling from Vidarbha, got off to a great start through Prithvi Shaw (46), and Bhupen Lalwani (37), stitching together an opening partnership of 81 runs. On a grassy pitch, assistance was available, but the visitors missed their mark early on, giving Shaw and Lalwani the opportunity to take the lead. Ultimately, Harsh Dubey’s decision to fire Shaw helped to break up the alliance, and it was spin that worked.
The in-form Musheer Khan and the seasoned Ajinkya Rahane were both scalped by the left-arm spinner, topping that. Short balls from Umesh Yadav caused Shreyas Iyer to fall quickly and with good effect.
Mumbai went from a comfortable 81/0 to 111/6, where they were soon in the soup. At that point, Thakur arrived at the crease. The all-round player exuded confidence right away, hitting a flurry of boundaries along with a few inconsistent ones. He also hit a few of sixes using his feet against spin. Mumbai gained 120 runs off their final four wickets thanks in part to the contributions of their other lower order batsmen.
It was a well-known story of their lower order saving Mumbai’s innings following a collapse of the middle order. In addition to Dubey, Yash Thakur (3-54) too conjured up a potent spell for Vidarbha.
After the first hour, Vidarbha’s bowlers were spot on, but they were undermined by Thakur’s attack, which diminished their effectiveness. Mumbai gained momentum after that hit, and they sealed the victory later in the day with further goals.
Dhruv Shorey was dismissed for a duck by Thakur as he carried on his bizarre performance with the ball. In his last match, his senior partner Kulkarni delivered a characteristically inquisitive spell to dismiss Aman Mokhade and Karun Nair as well, ensuring Mumbai concluded the day with a flourish.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 31/3 (Atharva Taide 21*; Dhawal Kulkarni 2-9, Shardul Thakur 1-14) trail Mumbai 224 (Shardul Thakur 75; Yash Thakur 3-54, Harsh Dubey 3-62) by 193 runs.
