Mumbai are asserting their dominance in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 final against Vidarbha. First, skipper Ajinkya Rahane ended the drought of runs Musheer Khan played the anchor role and scored a century. Meanwhile, dropped from India’s Test side, Shreyas Iyer batted aggressively and scored 95 on Day 3 of the final clash. After piling runs on Day 3 Mumbai set a daunting target of 538 for Vidarbha.
Rahane falls but Iyer dominates
Starting the Day 3 at 141/2, Rahane could add 15 runs to his score. He lost his wicket to left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey. He scored 73 runs from 143 balls including five fours and a six. After the 130-run third-wicket partnership, Iyer walked in to bat. He hit the first six of his innings off the 13th ball he faced. He hit a six off pacer Yash Thakur as well. The middle-order batter reached his half-century from 62 balls. Mumbai were 262/3 at the end of the first session.
Iyer departs, Musheer hits century
On the first ball of the second session, he started with a six against Dubey. Musheer reached his century off 255 balls. The teenager got a reprieve when he was batting on 114. Iyer was cruising to his century but Aditya Thakare got the breakthrough. Iyer went for an aerial shot but was caught at long-off by Aman Mokhade. He scored 95 runs from 111 balls including 10 fours and three sixes.
This was Iyer’s first half-century in red-ball cricket after a long gap of 15 months. He was recently not considered in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) annual retainership list of central contracts. He was dropped from the squad for the last three Tests of the five-Test series against England.
Mini collapse
After the 168-run partnership for the fourth wicket, wicketkeeper-batter Hardik Tamore got bowled got a single-digit score by Yash. Musheer could not continue either and got out lbw by Dubey. He took 326 balls to score 136 runs. His knock included 10 fours. The wicket fell at the stroke of the tea break.
Mumbai set for a big win
After the second session, Mumbai's hero in the first innings, Shardul Thakur got bowled for a golden duck. However, Shams Mulani's unbeaten half-century helped Mumbai post 418 in the second innings and set a target of 538. Before the end of the day's play, Vidarbha openers managed to score 10 runs from two overs. With two days remaining in the final, Mumbai are well poised to win the Ranji Trophy for the 42nd time.
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