CHENNAI: Ajinkya Rahane's shrewd captaincy and Shams Mulani's 4 for 53 came in handy for Mumbai to inflict an innings and 70 runs defeat on Tamil Nadu on the third day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal played at the BKC complex, Mumbai on Monday. Earlier in the morning, the Mumbai innings folded for 378 in 106.5 overs with Tanush Kotian left stranded on 89 runs.
Mumbai bagged a lead of 232 runs which ultimately proved to be more than enough as Tamil Nadu could manage only 162 runs in their second essay. B Indrajith was the only batter who offered some resistance as he played a gritty knock of 70 runs.
"Absolutely delighted to win against a strong side like Tamil Nadu and march into the final. It was absolute teamwork and Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) did a brilliant job by marshalling his resources well. We are eager to play the final against whichever team wins the other semifinal,'' said Tushar Desphande, whose 88-run stand for the last wicket with Tanush, gave the hosts a handsome lead.
The wicket showed signs of wear and tear and it was always going to be difficult for the Tamil Nadu batters to play the waiting game to perfection. "It was clear that the wicket would increasingly start aiding spinners. All our bowlers bowled well in patches and Shams Mulani bowled absolutely well to pick four wickets,'' added Deshpande.
Speaking on their plans against TN batters, the right arm pacer said, "We did not have any specific plans for individuals in the TN team. In general, we were asked to keep things simple and put pressure on them. We knew that it would be difficult for them to first clear the deficit and then set a target for us. We applied the pressure well.''
For Tamil Nadu, the wait for the coveted trophy continues. The semifinal loss would be hard to digest as till the quarterfinals they played a fearless brand of cricket and were handsomely rewarded as well.
Tamil Nadu in their second essay lost both their openers Sai Sudharsan and N Jagadeesan cheaply. They even sent Washington Sundar at No 3 to try and fight it out but the ace all-rounder perished for 4 falling to Mohit Avasthi. ''Credit to Mumbai bowlers they bowled really well and thus could win. But I am proud of the way we played in the tournament to reach the semis. Some of the players were not available for several games yet we reached the semifinal. Plus it was a good learning experience for the youngsters who got a chance to play,'' said Sai Kishore, captain of Tamil Nadu.
Sai Kishore on Sunday evening while talking to this daily wanted his batters to play for two days and then take the fight to the last day. But that was not to be. ''Both our openers Sudharsan and Jags (Jagadeesan) got out soon. So I sent Washy at No 3, since he is a good player of fast bowling. I wanted Pradosh (Ranjan Paul) and Indrajith to tackle their (Mumbai) spinners. Pradosh and Indrajith have combined well in the past. But that was not to be, as we failed to click as a unit,'' said Sai Kishore.
''I believe that the turning point of the match was Shardul Thakur's century. His ton took the game away from us. He played aggressively and positively,'' added the Tamil Nadu skipper.
Despite the defeat, Sai Kishore sees a lot of positives in this Ranji season. ''We came to the semis after a long time. Many of the youngsters who played this season would have understood what first-class cricket is all about. This will come in handy and in the next five years, as I am sure we will come to the knock-outs regularly, and win in one of the coming editions,'' signed off Sai Kishore.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 146 & 162 in 51.5 ovs (Baba Indrajith 70; Shardul Thakur 2/16, Shams Mulani 4/53, Tanush Kotian 2/18) lost to Mumbai 378 in 106.5 ovs. Vidarbha: 170 & 343/6 in 90 ovs (Yash Rathod 97 batting, Akshay Wadkar 77, Aman Mokhade 59; Anubhav Agarwal 2/68) vs Madhya Pradesh 252.