MUMBAI: Farewells can turn into fairytales too. Drafted into the XI at the last minute for the
Ranji Trophy final
against Vidarbha at the
Wankhede Stadium
after he sat out for most of the season,
Dhawal Kulkarni
played his part in a send-off which was so perfect that it seemed scripted.
After taking 3 for 15 in the first innings with some quality bowling, Kulkarni ended up taking the final wicket of Vidarbha’s innings too with the last ball of his First-Class career when he cleaned up
Umesh Yadav
’s stumps as the batsman went for a big heave, triggering wild celebrations in the Mumbai team and fans, of Ranji Trophy title No 42.
Soon after last strike handed Mumbai a 169-run win over a resolute Vidarbha on Day 5 of the final, Kulkarni looked skywards, thanking the heavens, before breaking into tears and hugging his teammates, who would later hoist the veteran pacer on their shoulders. Coming after an agonizing wait of seven seasons, which saw two defeats in the final, this triumph, fittingly coming at home, was heart-warming for Mumbai’s supporters.
A unique feature of this team is that, unlike the Mumbai sides of the past, only captain
Ajinkya Rahane
, Kulkarni,
Shreyas Iyer
and Shardul Thakur were a part of Ranji winning sides before this win.
Incidentally, of the 13 Ranji finals at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai have won 11. Rahane on Thursday became the 26th Mumbai captain to hold the trophy. In 89 editions of the tournament, Mumbai have played in 48 finals.
Rahane, though, rightly doffed his hat to Vidarbha for turning this final into an engrossing battle after they looked dead and buried when they were skittled out for just 105 on Day 2 morning. Chasing a mammoth 538-run target, Vidarbha were, against all odds, kept in the game by their gallant captain Akshay Wadkar (102, 199b, 9x4, 1x6) and his 130-run, 255-ball partnership for the sixth wicket with the equally brave Harsh Dubey (65, 128b, 5x4, 2x6).
When play resumed on the final day, Vidarbha, 248 for five, needed 290, but after the duo added 85 in 33 overs before lunch, that target was whittled down to 205, and you thought that the impossible was possible.
However, once Wadkar was trapped lbw by off-spinner
Tanush Kotian
, who emerged Mumbai’s final-day hero with four for 48, Vidarbha suffered a collapse, losing their last five wickets for 15 runs in 31 balls. Dubey and the injured veteran left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate, whose inability to bowl hurt Vidarbha badly, were both snared by short deliveries by
Tushar Deshpande
(2-53).
In an award which will hopefully boost his chances of breaking into the India A team, Kotian was adjudged as the ‘Player of the Tournament.’ Scoring 501 runs in 10 matches @41.83 besides taking 29 wickets @16.96, Kotian played a stellar role in Mumbai’s triumph.
The ‘Player of the Final’ award went to
Musheer Khan
, who slammed a match-deciding 136 in the second innings, besides taking two for 48 (including the wicket of Karun Nair) during Vidarbha’s epic chase.
BRIEF SCORES: Mumbai: 224 & 418 beat Vidarbha 105 & 368 (K Nair 74, A Wadkar 102; T Kotian 4/95) by 169 runs.
English (US) ·