Dream run: Kotian won the player of the tournament award for his excellent performance this season.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
For Mumbai all-rounder Tanush Kotian, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of labour.
More than his heroics with the bat lower down the order that came in handy during Mumbai’s march into the 2021-22 final and the critical knock of 93 against Maharashtra during the 2022-23 league match that brought Mumbai on the brink of qualification, off-spinning all-rounder Kotian was often reminded of the solitary run he couldn’t score in the Maharashtra Derby.
Mumbai required at least the first-innings lead in the last league game to progress to the knockouts. When Kotian came in at No. 8, Mumbai was 143 runs behind Maharashtra’s 381.
Despite batting with a fractured finger, Kotian helped the side level the scores, but was dismissed ending Mumbai’s hopes of regaining the Ranji Trophy since 2015-16. The trauma was such that it gave him nightmares.
“Many times I would wake up and the flashback of missing out on that one run continued in my head. It was extremely difficult to get over it,” Kotian told The Hindu.
The nightmare will no longer haunt Kotian. Thanks to a dream run in this season’s Ranji Trophy — 502 runs at 41.83 and 29 wickets at 16.96 — not only did Kotian help Mumbai win the title for the 42nd time, but was also adjudged the Player-of-the-Tournament.
“Winning the Ranji Trophy was a childhood dream. It was a near-miss the last two years; so extremely delighted to have played a role in the win. I can safely say that the hard-work has borne fruits and the monkey is off my back now,” Kotian said.
Cherry on top
“The player of the tournament award is like a big cherry on top. To earn the trophy was the goal, the individual award is like a bonus.”
Ever since he returned to the Mumbai Ranji Trophy side in 2021-22 after featuring in two games in the 2018-19 edition, it has been a case of near-misses for Kotian. However, the Ranji Trophy title has been a major boost for the lanky 25-year-old. After being consistent in the league stage, Kotian dazzled in the knockouts with the bat and the ball.
He wasted no time in responding when asked about the most memorable moments of the season.
“The hundred (against Baroda in the quarterfinal) is memorable, so is the four-wicket haul in the final,” he said.
“Giving a breakthrough on the last day of the final was equally big (he broke the 130-run partnership by dismissing Vidarbha centurion Akshay Wadkar). But nothing can match the winning moment.”
