Gujarat created history here at the Holkar Cricket Stadium on Saturday when they defeated Mumbai by five wickets to clinch their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
This was only their second appearance in a Ranji Trophy final.
Stellar performance from captain Parthiv Patel, who led from the front with an exemplary knock of 143 runs, helped Gujarat scale the challenging 312-run target in 89.5 overs. Parthiv was well supported by Manprit Juneja (54) and Rujul Bhatt (27) as .
Mumbai began well, removing overnight batsman Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai early with just four runs added on the board. Samit Gohel (21) too didn’t last long and at 89 for three, the scales were tilted heavily in favour of Mumbai who were aiming for their 42nd title.
Getting Gritty
Manprit Juneja and Parthiv Patel then produced a rearguard action as the duo stitched a 116-run partnership for the fourth wicket and took the match within Gujarat’s reach. Parthiv soaked the pressure and punched a few to the fence to put Mumbai on the backfoot. He reached his half-century in just 75 deliveries, picking 11 boundaries in the process. He did nick a few, most of which fetched him boundaries, but that didn’t deter him from playing freely.
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Both the batsmen played aggressive cricket and kept rotating the strike. Juneja approached the umpires a few times with complaints of sledging by Mumbai players, but it never seemed to hurt his concentration. He smashed paceman Balwinder Sandhu for two consecutive boundaries in the 39th over and then took him on again in the 65th over to reach his half century. Even though he departed four runs later, he had done enough to dampen Mumbai’s morale.
Once he left, Rujul Bhatt stitched a 94-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Parthiv. However, all he had to do from the other end was watch Parthiv’s brilliant knock. After missing out on a century by 10 runs in the first innings, Parthiv kept the opposition captain Aditya Tare on toes.
Missed opportunities
Despite Parthiv’s century, Mumbai will have only themselves to blame for their first loss in a Ranji final since 1990-91. Prithvi Shaw dropped Samit Gohel in the fifth over of the day, and though he didn’t go on to score a big one, Gohel ensured he saw off the first hour for Gujarat.
A number of catches went through the slip cordon with Rujul Bhatt getting lucky thrice. Mumbai were shambolic in the field throughout the final, having dropped a few in the first innings as well. Tare too dropped one that hit the helmet and cost them five runs in penalties. It simply wasn’t Mumbai’s day and though their bowlers stuck to a plan, their fielders let them down.
Source: HindustanTimes