Mumbai, Mar 14: After eight long years of title drought, formidable Mumbai on Thursday lifted the Ranji Trophy for the 42nd time.
In the well contested final, Ajinkya Rahane-led hosts beat Vidarbha by 169 runs on Day 5 at the Wankhede Stadium, here to add one more Ranji title to their tally.
Mumbai's 19 year-old-spin bowling all-rounder Musheer Khan, who hit a precious 136 in the first innings and claimed two wickets in the final, was adjudged Player of the Match.
His teammate Tanush Kotian won the Player of the Series award for scoring valuable 502 runs and claiming 29 wickets in this year's Ranji season. Both Musheer and Tanush played crucial roles in Mumbai's title victory and were highly praised by their skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
The performance of Mumbai bowlers was led by veteran Dhawal Kulkarni, who was playing his farewell match. Mumbai's victory was a fitting tribute to Kulkarni's legacy of excellence in domestic cricket.
Resuming their second innings at 248/5 on the final day, Vidarbha though played cautious cricket till Lunch and frustrated Mumbai, but they were finally bundled out for 368 in 134.3 overs.
Mumbai's Tanush Kotian picked 4 Vidarbha second innings wickets. Musheer Khan and speedster Tushar Deshpande scalped two wickets each. Shams Mulani and Dhawal Kulkarni both also had success with solitary victims.
Chasing a mammoth victory target of 538 to win their third Ranji title, Vidarbha despite a fight, finally fell short by 169 runs. But not before a much improved batting performance in their second innings. Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar top scored with a valiant 102.
But once Wadkar fell LBW to Kotian after sharing a vital 130 runs 6th wicket partnership with Harsh Dubey, Vidarbha's second innings folded quickly. However, Harsh Dubey too impressed with a fighting and compact 65 runs innings.
Vidarbha lost skipper Wadkar at 353 on the score-board in 129.2 overs. They lost their last four wickets in next 5.1 overs adding only 15 runs to their second innings score.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai: 224 & 418
Vidarbha: 105 & 368.
Mumbai won by 169 runs, lift Ranji Trophy for the 42nd time.
Player of the Match: Musheer Khan.
Player of the Series: Tanush Kotian.
