Inspired: Musheer said he did not realise Tendulkar was in the stands till he got to 60.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
Four months since watching Virat Kohli score his record 50th ODI hundred in the World Cup semifinal, Sachin Tendulkar returned to the Wankhede Stadium president’s box on Tuesday morning for the third day’s opening session of the Ranji Trophy final.
Soon after lunch, Musheer Khan, 19, became the youngest Mumbai player to score a ton in a Ranji final, pushing Tendulkar down to the fourth in the list. While Tendulkar gave Musheer a standing ovation when he and Shreyas walked back during the lunch break, Musheer was thrilled to have Tendulkar in the gallery to watch him bat.
In fact, Musheer admitted that he realised Tendulkar was in the gallery almost halfway through the opening session. “I didn’t even know that Sachin Sir had come. Only when I got past 60, I saw Sachin Sir on the screen (at the stadium),” he said.
Youngest century-makers in Ranji final
Amit Sharma (18y 127d), Punjab vs Maharashtra, 1992-93
Musheer Khan (19y 14d), Mumbai vs Vidarbha, 2023-24
“That’s when I got the motivation that thodasa unko dikhana hai aaj batting karke (I have to impress him with my batting).”
Having scored a hundred in each innings in the first Ranji final he played in 1994-95, Tendulkar definitely knows the importance of the feat. No wonder then that Musheer – who became the second-youngest centurion in a Ranji final – was thrilled with scoring a ton in his maiden Ranji final.
“I am very happy for scoring a century in the final. It was a dream for me to score a century in the Ranji Trophy final. We had a good partnership, we communicated well and (Iyer) bhai was insisting that we have to bat for a long period and take the game as far as we can.”
While Musheer had his father-cum-coach Naushad watching from the stands, another family in the gallery was elated with their son’s feat. Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey picked his maiden five-wicket haul in FC cricket. “Being the first, that too in a Ranji final and with my family having come down to watch it makes it even more special,” Dubey said.
