Mumbai asserted their Ranji Trophy dominance once again, winning the title for the 41st time in the competition's history after defeating Saurashtra in the final in Pune, Friday. Mumbai played some brilliant cricket, on their way to getting the better of Saurashtra by an innings and 21 runs.
This is Mumbai's fifth Ranji title in the last 10 years. Mumbai did not need much time to win their 41st title, as they beat Saurashtra inside three days.
Mumbai, who had won the toss and asked Saurashtra to bat first, got off to a terrific start with the new ball. Mumbai bowlers – Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur – bowled a brilliant line and length to dismiss the Saurashtra top and middle order for under 100 runs. They were tottering at 95 runs for the loss of six wickets.
However a decent batting effort from Arpit Vasavada (77 runs) and Prerak Madak (66) helped Saurashtra to come up with a first innings total of 235 runs.
But, Mumbai, who also lost early wickets, came back strongly with a century from Shreyas Iyer and an aggressive 88 from SIddesh Lad, which helped them take a lead of 136 runs in the first innings, after they finished on 371.
Mumbai, were in the driver's seat with a considerable first innings lead and their bowlers once again showed their class with some top class bowling on day three. If the first innings was a difficult one for Saurashtra, the second innings proved to be a nightmare, with Cheteshwar Pujara, so disappointing in this final, the top-scorer with just 27 runs.
Thakur was the best bowler for Mumbai, picking a five-for while Kulkarni finished with two wickets. Saurashtra were bundled out for 115 runs, resulting in a big loss.
This is Saurashtra's second final defeat in the last four years. They were beaten by Mumbai in 2013 Ranji final as well.
