In the Ranji Trophy final, Mumbai has taken control against Vidarbha. Vidarbha needs to chase 290 runs to win, with their lower-order batsmen facing a daunting task.
Mumbai’s Musheer Khan played a crucial role, both with the bat and ball, putting his team in a strong position. Khan’s century and his hard work on the field have been key to Mumbai’s performance.
Karun Nair fought bravely for Vidarbha, scoring 74 runs before getting out to Khan’s bowling. Nair’s determined innings kept Vidarbha’s hopes alive, but his dismissal puts Mumbai in a favorable position.
Despite the challenging target, Vidarbha has shown resilience, led by captain Akshay Wadkar, who remains unbeaten on 56 runs. However, the task ahead is tough, with Mumbai’s bowlers putting pressure on the opposition.
Nair stood like a statue, fully aware of the consequence of his rare error. When he finally started walking back to the dugout – after a failed review that he took against all hope – the motley Wankhede crowd got on its feet. It was for Musheer but they might as well be applauding Nair’s slow-burn innings.
It was a kind of knock that’s largely out of fashion these days. He took 43 balls to hit his first boundary, a drive through the covers off pacer Tushar Deshpande. The shot also took Vidarbha’s score past 100 – in the 36th over. It took Vidarbha another 42 overs to reach 200 while Nair took 222 minutes for his 50. Alongside captain Akshay Wadkar (56 not out), Nair dealt largely in singles and although there was an odd attempt to hit a reverse sweep, he never really managed to connect. Barring those shots, it was a largely chanceless innings. Until he finally fell to Musheer.
The wicket, he knows, is a potential game-changer. “I think we need to be realistic. It’s a tough task,” he said of the challenge that Vidarbha now face. “I can say something about the team, they have the character. (But) I would have loved to be batting overnight.” Nair knows that had he stayed on, there would have been slight anxiety when Mumbai would have come out on Thursday even though they’d have remained the favourites. Especially after making the Mumbai bowlers grind all day on Wednesday.
His wicket leaves the lower order exposed and with 290 runs still to get, Mumbai now have one hand on the trophy. Safe to say, when they return on Thursday, there will be few napping in the stands and the dhol wallahs won’t be silent. Brief scores: Mumbai 224 and 418 vs Vidarbha 105 and 248/5 (Karun Nair 74, Akshay Wadkar 56*; Musheer Khan 2/38, Tanush Kotian 2/56). Vidarbha need 290 more runs to win.