A dogged fightback from Vidarbha, led by Karun Nair (74) and skipper Akshay Wadkar (56 batting), prolonged Mumbai’s wait for a 42nd Ranji Trophy title as the visiting side reached 248/5 in pursuit of a mammoth 538 on the fourth and penultimate day of the final here on Wednesday.
Set an improbable target after being outplayed since the first day afternoon, Vidarbha put up a resolute show with the bat to frustrate their hosts by resorting to stonewalling for the majority of the day.
Nair, who joined the Vidarbha ranks only at the start of this season, was at the forefront of their resistance as he faced as many as 220 balls while batting for 287 minutes to keep Mumbai at bay.
But the right-handed batter ultimately fell to the brilliance of Musheer Khan late in the day, with the 19-year-old producing a superb bowling show after setting up the game with 136 in the second innings.
Vidarbha need another 290 runs with five wickets in hand.
Vidharbha's batter Karun Nair celebrates after scoring a half-century on the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy final test cricket match between Mumbai and Vidarbha, at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, Wednesday, March 13, 2024 PTI
Mumbai managed a couple of wickets each in the first two sessions and the vital scalp of Nair in the last. They took the second new ball in the 82nd over of the innings.
Mumbai’s spinners, Musheer and Tanush Kotian, operated from both ends to challenge the batters’ technique.
The leader of the spin pack for Mumbai was Musheer, who remained nearly unplayable for his figures of 17-3-24-2. The younger brother of India batter Sarfaraz Khan, second-innings centurion Musheer — who bowls left-arm orthodox — maintained a challenging line from both the sides of the pitch to keep troubling the Vidarbha batters.
Musheer’s dismissal of Nair, who survived early in his innings, was the one which stood out. Giving a nice loop, Musheer got it to turn away sharply and found an edge.
Brief scores: Mumbai 224 & 418. Vidarbha 105 & 248/5 (Karun Nair 74, Akshay Wadkar 56 batting; Tanush Kotian 2/56, Musheer Khan 2/38). At stumps, Day IV
Written with PTI inputs
