Mumbai lost to Vidarha in the second semi-final played in Nagpur against Vidarbha. On the final day with Mumbai set to chase 406 to win, they were bowled out for 325 runs in their second innings losing the match by 80 runs.
Mumbai's big three in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube could not contribute to the chase substantially and the side crumbled under pressure.
Trying to chase the mammoth score, Mumbai finished day 3 on 83/3 with opener Ayush Mhatre, Siddhesh Lad and Ajinkya Rahane all back to the pavillion. Shivam Dube was the first wicket to fall on day 5 with Mumbai getting down to 84/4 to start the day.
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Defending Champions Mumbai Crash Out Of Ranji Trophy
The Vidarbha bowlers then kept chipping away with the wickest with SKY falling for 23 off 20 balls. There was some resistance from the lower order with Smas Mulani scoring 46 and all-rounder Sardul Thakur scoring 66. From 124/6, Mulani and Thakur took the score to 227 with a stand of 93 runs between them.
Once the partnership was broken by pacer Yash Thakur, the tail-enders could not add much to the total. Tanush Kotian (26), Mohit Avasthi (34) and Royston Dias (32) tried their best with the bat. Finally, Mumbai were bowled out for 325.
For Vidarbha, left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey picked up 5/127. Another left-arm spinner Parth Rekhade took 2/70. Right-arm pacer Yash Thakur took 2/43 to get Mumbai bowled out well short of the target. Yash Rathod was named the Player Of The Match for his 54 in the first innings and his 151 in the second innings.
Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbai skipper congratulated Vidarbha for making it to the Ranji Trophy final. He also lauded the comeback of his own team in the second innings.
"We tried our best. No-one likes to lose but congratulations to Vidarbha for making it to the final for the second time in a row. We made a great comeback with the lower order. I am proud of the entire team. Those three wickets in an over gave Vidarbha the momentum. We did manage to come back well but they were disciplined with the ball. Many positives for us. It's very easy to pinpoint when you lose. We will take positives from this game and I am sure we will learn and come back stronger next year" said the Mumbai skipper.
Vidarbha now will pace Kerala in the Ranji Trophy final against Kerala who won against Gujarat in a dramatic fashion. Gujarat needed just two runs to match Kerala's first-inning score. The last batter Arzan Nagwaswalla attempted to flick Sarwate, the left-arm spinner towards the leg side, but the ball struck short-leg fielder Salman Nizar’s helmet and lobbed up in for Sachin Baby to take an easy catch at slips. The Kerala players were aimlessly happy to get the lead by the barest of margins.
At 114/4 in their second innings, Kerala and Gujarat agreed to a draw, confirming Kerala’s historic final berth. Kerala made their very first Ranji Trophy final by beating Jammu & Kashmir in the quarter-final by just one run.
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