NAGPUR: When it comes to Ranji Trophy, it is impossible to overlook Mumbai’s record. The team has won it 41 times. Second on the list of champions is Karnataka, with eight titles. The numbers could appear confusing to the uninitiated, if informed of the pummelling Mumbai received in this match.
Mumbai had come into the competition high on confidence, having finished in the finals in two preceding seasons, winning the first and losing the second. After a bumpy ride into the quarterfinals, with just two wins in six league games against weaker sides like Odisha and Tripura, they were in for a reality check against Karnataka.
Mumbai legend Amol Muzumdar, donning the role of commentator for the knockout match, termed Mumbai’s performance as mediocre. Asked how he assessed the way they played this season, he told Express, “It has been very average. Mumbai had two solid seasons before this. They finished as runners-up last year, and won the trophy the year before. The problem this year was the fact that they could not win against Baroda and Tamil Nadu at home in the group stages.”
The other factor Muzumdar felt might have had a jarring effect was that the team found it tough to settle down as a unit. The bowling department was worst affected. “Due to injuries and other fitness issues, bowlers like Shardul Thakur, Royston Dias, Tushar Deshpande could not settle into the team. A lot of youngsters had to be called in.” Thakur was out after injuring his left shoulder in the Tripura game. Batting star Shreyas Iyer too was busy with India commitments.
Skipper Aditya Tare was ready to take the blame for an ordinary season. “If I want to stress on one thing, it will be Surya’s (Suryakumar Yadav) and my bad form in the middle order. (Siddhesh) Lad did his part but two senior batsmen in the squad did not. If at all you want to blame the batsmen, it has to be me and Surya, throughout the season,” the keeper-batsman said.
“Barring Dhawal (Kulkarni), four of our bowlers do not have experience of even 10 matches. We missed our senior players, but that is not an excuse,” he added.
Muzumdar feels they will soon return to winning ways. “Every time Mumbai lose, it generates extreme reactions, but the team cannot be expected to win every year. I’m sure two years down the line, they will make a comeback and lift the trophy. The attitude with which Mumbai players operate helps them do stuff like that.”
Brief scores
In Jaipur: Bengal 354 & 483/4 (A Easwaran 114, n.o, W Chatterjee 213 n.o, M Tiwary 59) vs Gujarat 224.
In Vijayawada: MP 338 & 283 (Harpreet 78; Mishra 4/59)vs Delhi 405 & 8/0.
In Surat: Vidarbha 246 & 431/6 (F Fazal 119, A Wankhade 107, G Satish 65, W Jaffer 58; J Saxena 3/106) vs Kerala 176.
In Nagpur: Mumbai 173 & 120/3 (S Yadav 108, A Parker 65, S Dubey 71; K Gowtham 6/104) Karnataka 570. Karnataka won by innings and 20 runs.