Shardul Thakur celebrates a wicket on day 1 of the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha in Mumbai on March 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

Seasoned duo Shreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane’s run drought continued but Shardul Thakur’s all-rounder utility helped hosts Mumbai to claw their way back against a gutsy Vidarbha on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final.

After scoring a counter-punching 75 off only 69 balls to give Mumbai’s below-par first innings score of 224, some semblance of respectability, Thakur also dismissed veteran opener Dhruv Shorey (0) with an angular delivery which got him a favourable DRS result.

Vidarbha were 31/3 at stumps with another 193 runs in arrears in the first innings with Atharva Taide (21 not out) and night-watchman Aditya Thakare at the crease.

Playing the last first-class game of his career, medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni bowled his customary late outswingers which had Aman Mokhade (8) and Test triple centurion Karun Nair (0) nicking it to Hardik Tamore behind stumps.

Mumbai’s top guns Rahane and Iyer were both dismissed for identical scores of 7 in a shocking collapse that saw the 41-time champions slipping from 81/0 to 111/6 on either side of the lunch break.

His achievement as a leader notwithstanding, Rahane’s miserable run in the Ranji Trophy continued when the Mumbai skipper played one meekly to mid-on to be dismissed at a time when his team needed him to drop the anchor.

Around the same time last year, Rahane was a contender to earn his spot back in the national team but as things stand, irrespective of the outcome of this final it remains to be seen if Mumbai selectors would persist with the 35-year-old for the next season.

Out-of-favour and back in the grind to come back in the national reckoning again, Iyer once again failed to bail Mumbai out of trouble due to his poor technique.

During the morning session, Umesh Yadav (2/43 in 13.3 overs) was as wayward as one could be spraying the new ball all over and mostly drifting on the pads of openers Prithvi Shaw and Bhupen Lalwani.

But the pacer with 170 Test victims did get the prized scalp of Iyer to compound Mumbai’s problems during post lunch session.

Expecting a short ball, Iyer remained rooted to the crease and in double mind as the ball bounced a tad more than he anticipated. With no footwork, Iyer went on a fishing expedition and the resultant catch was taken by Karun in the slips.

It all began when pacer Yash Thakur found an outside edge off opener Bhupen Lalwani’s (37) bat to have Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar taking a superb one-handed grab diving to his right.

Lalwani had done well to put on an impressive 81-run stand for the opening wicket with the burly Prithvi Shaw (46), who too was a tad reckless in his dismissal.

With spin being introduced as early as in the ninth over, Shaw went for the sweep quite a few times but never really executed it well.

On one such occasion he missed connecting one from left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey (3/62) on the middle stump completely as the ball turned away to hit the off.

India U-19 star Musheer Khan (6) carried his World Cup form into knock-out rounds but on the day, an indiscreet flick-shot off an arm ball caught him plumb in-front.

Having lost six wickets for a mere 40 runs, Mumbai also went through a phase in which no boundary was hit for as many as 18 overs.

But the complexion of the game changed drastically upon the arrival of Thakur in the middle, who hit a few fours to put the pressure back on Vidarbha and maintained the tone.

Thakur displayed adroit use of both hands and his feet to inch closer to what would have been his second consecutive ton, but kept running out of partners.

Thakur was the last batter dismissed, caught by the man at deep square leg after a superb 75 off just 69 balls with eight fours and three sixes.

The troika of Tanush Kotian (8), Tushar Deshpande (14) and Shams Mulani (13), which bailed Mumbai on numerous occasions with useful runs also fell cheaply.

Mumbai Ranji cricket players celebrate a wicket during the semifinal against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai on March 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

Shardul Thakur shone brightly with his all-round performance as a clinical Mumbai thrashed Tamil Nadu by a massive innings and 70-run margin inside three days to enter the final of the Ranji Trophy, in Mumbai on March 4.

After his stunning 109 on the second day that handed Mumbai a big lead of 232 runs in the first innings, Thakur led Mumbai’s bowling attack to bundle TN out for 162 in the second essay.

Baba Indrajith (70) waged a lone battle for the visitors, who were determined to make it big in their first Ranji knockout game in seven years, but their batters failed to show up against the rampant Mumbai side.

Once again, TN lost their top-order without any contribution and the middle-order too crumbled against the pressure, though the pair of Indrajith and Pradosh Ranjan Paul put some resistance, stitching 73 runs for the fourth wicket.

The catalyst of Mumbai’s win was bowling all-rounder Thakur (109; 2/48 and 2/16), who dragged them back into the contest from a perilous state of 106/7 in the first innings to an overall lead of 232 runs with his maiden century across formats.

Thakur was all over TN with a two-wicket burst early on day three, helping Mumbai reduce the visitors to 10/3 in the second innings.

B Sai Sudharsan was given a reprieve by Shreyas Iyer at midwicket, spilling a sitter in his first over, but Thakur had the left-handed opener caught behind with a superb inswinger that took an inside edge.

Thakur swung the new ball dangerously and snaffled the key wicket of N Jagadeesan for a seven-ball duck.

Mohit Avasthi also tasted success when he had Washington Sundar, promoted at No. 3, caught behind.

With the top order blown away, recovery was a herculean task for TN but the pair of Indrajith and Pradosh Ranjan Paul did well to take the attack to the opposition and keep their side in the contest.

Indrajith was back in his usual elements, cracking nine fours to make 70 off 105 balls but his resistance ended after nicking one behind to wicket-keeper Tamore off Avasthi.

Mumbai spinners Tanush Kotian (2/18) and Shams Mulani (4/53) joined fellow pacers in piling up further misery on the TN batters, sharing the remaining six wickets to wrap up the win for the hosts.

But it was Kotian, who took the initiative with wickets of Pradosh (25) and R Sai Kishore (21) before tea, while left-arm spinner Mulani, who had no wickets to show so far, grabbed each of the final four to return with figures of 13.5-1-53-4.

Earlier in the day, Mumbai were bowled out for 378 with Sundar taking the final wicket to break the 10th-wicket stand between Tushar Deshpande (26) and Kotian (89 not out).

Brief scores:

Tamil Nadu 146 and 162 in 51.5 overs (Baba Indrajith 70; Shardul Thakur 2/16, Shams Mulani 4/53, Tanush Kotian 2/18) lost to Mumbai 378 in 106.5 overs (Musheer Khan 55, Shardul Thakur 109, Tanush Kotian 89*; R Sai Kishore 6/99) by an innings and 70 runs.

Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur celebrates after scoring century on day 2 of the Ranji Trophy semifinals against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai on March 3, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

“I won the bet.” Shardul Thakur told R. Sai Kishore while exchanging a high-five minutes after the end of the second day’s play of the Ranji Trophy semifinal on Sunday.

While Sai Kishore reminded him that it was only for T20s, both had a hearty laugh over it. The bet, one was later informed, was that Shardul will “smash him when I face him in a match.”

On a day that was highlighted by the individual brilliance of both the all-rounders, Shardul overshadowed Sai Kishore at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground, with Mumbai’s lower order taking the game away from the opposition.

Sai Kishore on song

Shardul Thakur’s (109, 105b, 13×4, 4×6) maiden First-Class hundred and his partnerships with Hardik Tamore (105 for the eighth wicket) and Tanush Kotian (79 for the ninth) put Mumbai in command after R. Sai Kishore (six for 97) had Mumbai in trouble.

Kotian (74) and Tushar Deshpande’s unbroken 63-run stand rubbed salt into Tamil Nadu’s wounds as Mumbai was 353 for nine at stumps, an advantage of 207 runs.

The star of the day was Shardul. He bailed Mumbai out of trouble with a fearless yet masterful knock. When he took guard, with just 13 minutes remaining for lunch, Sai Kishore was on the rampage, having picked up four wickets in the morning to shatter another record. Mumbai, at that stage, was 106 for seven and in danger of conceding the lead.

Shardul didn’t waste time in showing his intent, hitting him for two fours. Even after lunch, he continued to go after the TN captain whose marathon spell was a treat to watch. While no other Mumbai batter was comfortable against him, Shardul scored 44 runs off the 37 balls he faced the lanky spinner.

He was dismissed after he reached his landmark with a one-bounced four as Jagadeesan — who had effected a brilliant stumping in the morning — took a lunging catch.

While the last two sessions belonged to Mumbai, Tamil Nadu dominated the morning session. Sai Kishore bowled unchanged from the club house end. Despite an overcast morning, he used the dampness to his advantage and broke the back of Mumbai’s middle-order.

Barring Shreyas Iyer — who played on to Sandeep Warrier early on in his innings — Sai Kishore earned all of Mumbai’s five wickets.

The scores:

Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: 146.

Mumbai — 1st innings: Prithvi Shaw c Indrajith b Kuldeep Sen 5, Bhupen Lalwani lbw b Sai Kishore 15, Musheer Khan st Jagadeesan b Sai Kishore 55, Mohit Avasthi st Jagadeesan b Sai Kishore 2, Ajinkya Rahane c Indrajith b Sai Kishore 19, Shreyas Iyer b Warrier 3, Hardik Tamore c Washington b Sai Kishore 35, Shams Mulani b Sai Kishore 0, Shardul Thakur c Jagadeesan b Kuldeep Sen 109, Tanush Kotian (batting) 74, Tushar Deshpande (batting) 17; Extras (lb-12, nb-2, pen-5): 19; Total (for nine wkts. in 100 overs): 353.

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-40, 3-48, 4-91, 5-96, 6-107, 7-106, 8-211, 9-290.

Tamil Nadu bowling: Warrier 18-0-66-1, Kuldeep Sen 15-0-65-2, Mohammed 8-2-21-0, Sai Kishore 37-9-97-6, Ajith Ram 14-1-68-0, Washington 7-0-19-0, Pradosh 1-1-0-0.