TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsIndia’s three-month-long red-ball domestic tournament is finally coming to an end. That’s right, we have our two Ranji Trophy 2023-24 finalists - Mumbai and Vidarbha. The two have been here in the past, so it’s not an unknown territory for either side.
This is going to be Mumbai’s 48th appearance in the Ranji Trophy final. They already have 41 titles to their name but haven’t won one in the last six seasons. The last time they qualified for the final was during the 2016-17 edition but lost to Gujarat. Meanwhile, Vidarbha appeared in the 2017-18 and 2018-2019 finals and ended up winning both.
Faiz Fazal played a major role in those two title wins, but this season, Vidarbha have got here without the 38-year-old contributing much with the bat. In fact, the opener even announced his retirement from professional cricket after the league stage.
Vidarbha won five of their seven league games but were tested against Madhya Pradesh in the semi-final. Despite conceding a lead of 82 in the first innings, Akshay Wadkar and his men made a superb comeback in the second innings and emerged victorious by 62 runs.
If Vidarbha had a tough time, Mumbai also had to fight it out against Tamil Nadu in the semi-final. Mumbai were in all sorts of trouble before their lower order bailed them out. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer haven’t been in great form with the bat, and they will have to step up in the finale at the Wankhede stadium.
Things to watch out for
Mumbai’s formidable lower-order
“They are the best Nos. 9 and 10 in India. I told this in the dressing room that their batting starts after No. 6,” said Tamil Nadu head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni after the semi-final. After getting bundled out for 146 in the first innings, Tamil Nadu reduced Mumbai to 106/7 and were right in the game. But then Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, and Tushar Deshpande happened and Tamil Nadu were blown away.
Thakur slammed his maiden first-class ton, while Kotian crafted an unbeaten 89. Deshpande chipped in with 26, as Mumbai’s last three partnerships accumulated 272 runs. This wasn’t the first time Mumbai’s lower order batted the opposition out of the game. In the quarterfinal against Baroda, both Kotian and Deshpande hit centuries and put on 232 runs for the last wicket.
We have all seen Thakur play those important knocks at the international level, while someone like Kotian is too good to bat in the lower order. The latter has six 50-plus scores in 12 innings this season and has a first-class average of 45.24. Mohit Avasthi too has a fifty to his name in this edition. In fact, Mumbai’s lower-order (8-11) has the best average (32.9) and balls/wicket (57.9) amongst all teams from the Elite Groups. Hence, Vidarbha can’t afford to breathe easy at any stage of the game.
Vidarbha need a bit more from Shorey
Dhruv Shorey has got starts in all his last nine innings but doesn’t have a single century in this period. This season, the 31-year-old has 549 runs in 16 innings @ 36.6, with just three fifties and one ton. These are decent numbers, however, it doesn’t do justice to someone like Shorey who moved to Vidarbha from Delhi after averaging 88.71 across the last two editions.
Amongst batters who have scored at least 500 runs this season, Shorey has the worst average and fourth-worst balls/wicket (66.8). In the semi-final against MP, Shorey got 40 in the second innings but missed out on an opportunity to score big. The likes of Karun Nair, Yash Rathod, Atharva Taide, and Wadkar have been a lot more consistent and Shorey would be eager to finish the season with a big score.
Other players in focus
Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer
Two international batters who have struggled for runs of late. Iyer, who has been dropped from the Test set-up, featured in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu after being blasted for skipping the quarter-final despite being cleared by the NCA. The middle-order batter, who hasn’t been offered a central contract, could only score 3 before getting knocked over by Sandeep Warrier.
Meanwhile, Rahane’s form is a bigger concern for Mumbai. The 35-year-old has led the side brilliantly but has only managed 134 runs across 11 innings at an average of 13.4, with just one half-century to his name. Amongst batters (top-seven) from the Elite teams with at least 10 innings, Rahane has the fourth-worst average. Three batters above him are all from Manipur
Musheer Khan
The younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer walked into the Mumbai side after dominating the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. In his first match of the season, the 19-year-old slammed an unbeaten 203 against Baroda in the QF. Hardik Tamore was the only other batter to score a fifty in that innings. Musheer followed that up with a knock of 55 in the semi-final. On top of that, he has also scalped four wickets with his left-arm spin. So far, he has been Mumbai’s MVP in the knockouts.
Shams Mulani
The spin-bowling all-rounder will have to be at his absolute best if Mumbai want to topple Vidarbha. The left-arm spinner has picked up 31 wickets this season at an average of 24.35. In the second innings against Tamil Nadu, Mulani claimed four wickets. That’s not it, the 26-year-old has also scored three fifties and is averaging 26.36 with the bat.
Prithvi Shaw
The 24-year-old returned back from his injury in February and announced his arrival with a quickfire 42-ball 35 against Bengal. In his very next innings, Shaw smashed 159 against Chhattisgarh and has touched the 30-run mark four times in his last five innings. He got out for just 5 in the semi-final and would be eager to play an impactful knock in the finale.
Karun Nair
The decision to move from Karnataka to Vidarbha has worked really well for the 32-year-old. With 616 runs in 15 innings @ 41.06, Nair is Vidarbha’s leading run-getter this season. The start wasn't the greatest. After seven scores of less than 45, Karun bounced back with centuries in consecutive innings. Even in the knockouts, Nair has scores of 90, 34, 63 and 38.
Akshay Wadkar
One of the best wicketkeeper-batters in the Indian domestic circuit, Wadkar has seven fifties in 14 innings but is yet to get a hundred. He has a habit of playing clutch knocks, as we saw in the second innings against MP. Rathod scored 141 but Wadkar also chipped in with a knock of 77. It was their 158-run stand that helped Vidarbha make a stunning comeback. He has an average of 55.45 in knockout games in the Ranji Trophy and also crafted a hundred in the 2017-18 final to help Vidarbha win their maiden title.
Aditya Sarwate
What Mulani is to Mumbai, Sarwate is to Vidarbha. The left-arm spinner has taken 40 wickets in this edition at an impressive average of 17.37. He has also scored 365 runs @ 28.07, proving his worth as a spin-bowling all-rounder. In 12 out of 17 innings, the left-arm spinner has picked up two or more wickets. Amongst spinners with at least 30 wickets this season, Sarwate has the second-best average.
Probable XIs
Mumbai - Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Shams Mulani, Hardik Tamore (wk), Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Tushar Deshpande.
Vidarbha - Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Yash Rathod, Karun Nair, Akshay Wadkar (c & wk), Aditya Sarwate, Yash Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Aditya Thakare, Akshay Wakhare, Aman Mokhade.
