Pandit sheds tears of joy as MP clinch maiden Ranji title
The result serves as a redemption for coach Pandit, who had lost Ranji final as MP skipper, 23 years ago
MUMBAI: Wiping the tears streaming down his cheeks, Madhya Pradesh coach Chandrakant Pandit walked to the centre of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He turned around, put his hands together, more a gesture of thanks to the venue than the couple of thousands in the stands.
It was a moment of redemption for the heartbreak he had suffered as MP skipper at the same venue 23 years ago. Then, chasing a fourth innings target, his batters had caved in to Karnataka spinner Vijay Bhardwaj, ending a brave run to the Ranji Trophy final in 1998-99. Not on Sunday. MP, the better side for most of the five days in the Ranji final against 41-time champions Mumbai, had held firm despite a few hiccups to knock off a fourth-innings target of 108, winning by six wickets with over a session to play to clinch their maiden Ranji title.
As his players jumped on each other in celebration, Pandit pulled them together for a huddle in the middle before the joyous team chaired the man who has been stamped as the super coach in Indian domestic cricket. He took Vidarbha to back-to-back Ranji titles and now had returned to MP, guiding them to a triumph that had slipped out of his hands.
The MP players were carrying their coach on their shoulders when he asked them to put him down, to meet the Mumbai players who were waiting to congratulate the winners. Pandit hugged his former Mumbai teammate Amol Muzumdar, coach of the beaten finalists. The last Mumbai title, in 2015-16, came under Pandit, who now has six wins as coach. How Pandit organised MP had been a big focus of this year’s Ranji. Yet, not many would have bet on them to go all the way. Their past record wasn’t great and they had just that one final in Bengaluru to show.
One of the stalwarts who made the dream become reality was Rajat Patidar. In the end, it was fitting that their top-scorer hit the winning run. Patidar’s century on Day 4 had helped MP take a 162run first-innings, leaving Mumbai hoping for a miracle to win a 42nd title.
There were a few setbacks but as they had done all season, MP never panicked—a trait instilled in them by Pandit. On the final day, Mumbai chased quick runs but it also meant losing wickets. Suved Parkar (51) and Sarfaraz Khan (45), first-innings centurion, played brisk knocks but Mumbai were 269 all out. It left them with too little to pile on the pressure.
Chasing a modest target is always tricky and MP suffered a setback in the second over when first-innings centurion Yash Dubey’s middle-stump was uprooted by Dhawal Kulkarni. Mumbai hopes though were dimmed by a 52-run stand between opener Himanshu Mantri (37) and Shubham Sharma (30). Mantri and Parth Sahani fell to left-arm spinner Shams Mulani as MP, down to 66/3, still needed 42 runs for victory.
Two balls after Sahani’s departure, Patidar could have been run out had Tanush Kotian taken his time to throw the ball to the keeper. He instead hit the batter running to the danger end. The 29-year-old survived another close call in the next over when a Mulani delivery spun, bounced and lobbed off his gloves to a vacant point region. Patidar didn’t give another chance, finishing unbeaten on 30.
Mumbai, resuming on 113/2 in their second innings, quickly scored the 49 runs to wipe out MP’S first innings lead and threatened to put up a competitive total for MP to chase. Armaan Jaffer (37, 40b) played another classy innings before being bowled off a Gaurav Yadav slower one.
Parkar (51, 48b) and Sarfaraz (45, 48b) played smartly to take Mumbai close to the 200-run mark, but left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya’s (4/98) twin strikes in the 35th over, dismissing Parkar and Yashasvi Jaiswal (1), dented Mumbai’s fightback. From 192/3 they lost the last seven wickets for just 77 runs.
MP had entered the final with only four specialist bowlers as their key bowlers Ishwar Pandey, Kuldeep Sen and Puneet Datey were injured. The risky decision though paid off, especially in the first innings when they dismissed Mumbai for 374. The foundation of this famous win was laid on Day 1 when they reduced Mumbai to 248/5 from 147/2. Pacers Anubhav Agarwal and Gaurav Yadav, taking advantage of the overcast conditions, shared seven wickets in the first innings.
MP batters then kept Mumbai on the field for seven sessions, effectively batting them out of the contest. Mantri, Sharma and Patidar became the first players to score a century against Mumbai this season.
MP became the fourth firsttime Ranji Trophy winners in last five seasons. The others were Gujarat (2016-17), Vidarbha (2017-18) and Saurashtra (2019-20).