Nagpur: A magnificent run-in domestic cricket this season culminated in a third Ranji Trophy title for Vidarbha, who emerged champions on the basis of their first-innings lead in the summit clash, which ended in a draw at their home ground on Sunday.
The fate of the contest was all but sealed on the third evening when Vidarbha edged ahead with a slender lead of 37 runs in the first innings, having dismissed a doughty Kerala for 342 after putting on 379 runs batting first.
Kerala, the first-time finalists, fought hard but Vidarbha were rewarded for their incredible hard work and discipline throughout a season in which they not only clinched the Ranji Trophy but also ended as the runner-up in the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy.
It is for the third time that Vidarbha have won the Ranji Trophy title, having done so earlier with their two consecutive wins in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
Vidarbha’s win now also makes them one of the strongest outfits in the Indian domestic cricket, for they had also finished as the runner-up in the Ranji Trophy last season.
The team under the captaincy of Akshay Wadkar and head coach Usman Ghani produced dominant performances throughout the Ranji Trophy season which was, for the first time in its 90-year history, split into two halves.
Vidarbha emerged as the best team across all the four groups in the league stage with six wins in seven matches giving them 40 points.
Unlike Kerala who also had luck on their side in the knockouts when they beat Jammu and Kashmir (quarterfinal) and Gujarat (semifinal) by barest of margins and progressed on basis of first-innings leads, Vidarbha grabbed outright wins.
Vidarbha crushed Tamil Nadu, last year’s semifinalists, by 198 runs in the quarterfinal and went on to pummel defending champions Mumbai by 80 runs in the semifinal.
Overall, Vidarbha won nine of the 10 matches they played in the Ranji Trophy this season, which reflects the dominance of the team in India’s premier domestic competition.
On Sunday, Vidarbha did what they had planned — to bat, bat and bat — and reached 375 for nine with Karun Nair making 135 (295 balls, 10x4s, 2x6s), Danish Malewar scoring 73 and Darshan Nalkande chipping in with a 51 not out.
Vidarbha resumed the final day’s play with the contest completely in their control, having an overnight lead of 286 runs.
Even though Nair could only add three more runs to his overnight tally, Vidarbha batted for long enough — close to the tea break — taking their overall lead to 412 runs, far beyond the reach of Sachin Baby’s side.
The triumph was achieved on the back of all-round performances, which had two of Vidarbha’s youngest players taking charge of their team’s showings on the field.
The 22-year-old left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey created the record for most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season with 69 dismissals, going past the previous record of 68 wickets which belonged to Bihar’s Ashutosh Aman.
Dubey also implemented the batting tips given by legendary Indian player Ravichandran Ashwin to make 476 runs in 10 matches with five fifties, perhaps to show early signs of another spin-bowling all-rounder in making for India.
The 24-year-old Yash Rathod, a bespectacled left-handed batter, amassed 960 runs at 53.33 in 10 matches with five centuries and three fifties to top the charts for batters, which had plenty of his teammates as well.
The veteran Nair, who had joined Vidarbha for this season, not only led their charge in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with five tons but also finished as the fourth highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, making 863 runs in nine matches at 53.93 with four tons and two fifties. In the final, Nair struck 86 and 135.
The 21-year-old Malewar, who struck 153 and 73 in the final, finished fifth with 783 runs at 52.20 with two tons and six fifties.
Nair and Malewar were the architects of Vidarbha’s win in the final, for they forged partnerships of 215 and 183 runs in the two innings to steer their team out of troubled waters in both the innings.
Skipper Wadkar was not too far behind, at seventh position with 722 runs in 10 matches at 45.12 with two tons and as many fifties.
Wadkar told the broadcaster after the match, “Everyone worked hard throughout, and we’re all very happy. Last year, we lost the final. So, we prepared during the monsoon itself. Every individual worked on himself.”
