Mumbai will host the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy final. As reported by Sportstar, it is known that the iconic Wankhede stadium will host the summit clash of the prestigious tournament, which will be played starting Sunday (March 10).
This comes after Mumbai beat Tamil Nadu in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. The Ajinkya Rahane-led team crushed their opponents by a huge innings margin and 70 runs in Monday’s (March 4) semi-final at the Bandra Kurla Complex to book a place in the final of the tournament.
This is the 48th time that Mumbai has qualified for the Ranji Trophy final. They have won the title 43 times, which says a lot about their dominance in the league. In the current edition, they dominated the league phase and finished with the highest number of points in the Elite division, adding 37 points in seven games.
In the semi-final, Mumbai were brilliant with bat and ball. They were asked to bowl first and did an exceptional job with the ball. The Ajinkya Rahane-led team bowled out the opposition by just 146 runs with Tushar Deshpande picking three wickets while Shardul Thakur, Musheer Khan and Tanush Kotian bagged two scalps.
With the bat, Mumbai struggled to get going as they were left reeling at 106/7. But it was Shardul Thakur who changed the course of the game and brought them back into the game. He closed his maiden FC century and finished with a knock of 109 runs that put Tamil Nadu under immense pressure.
Tanush Kotian (89*) then played a vital role in the order and helped Mumbai take a big lead in the first innings. They added a lead of 232 runs and then were exceptional with the ball in the second innings. They outscored Tamil Nadu by 162 runs to win the game by a huge margin.
Shams Mulani picked four wickets, while Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi and Tanush Kotian bagged two scalps each. Mumbai will now take on either Vidarbha or Madhya Pradesh in the summit clash, which will be played at home. On March 10.
Turning a century is a big relief: Shardul Thakur after scoring a century for Mumbai
Shardul Thakur, after his valiant effort with the bat for Mumbai, spoke about his international comeback. He believes he is not thinking too much ahead, but scoring a ton is a big relief for him. He highlighted the importance that his hit at that moment had for the team. He stated:
“I think an international comeback is far away now because the Test team is already out for the fifth game and after this, we will enter the IPL, so it is far away. I’m not thinking that far ahead. But yes, scoring a century is a big relief and it was very important for the team at that time.”
Shardul Thakur finished with 109 innings off 105 balls. He hit 13 fours and 4 sixes in his innings. His blow came at a time when his side was fallen and covered in dust. With the ball, he got four wickets in the game. For his valiant efforts, he was awarded the Player of the Match award.