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“It was a fantastic achievement to reach the final,” Uthappa began. “We almost pulled it off but it was quite unfortunate that we couldn’t win this. It’s very disappointing. A lot of hard work has gone over the past few months, a lots of dreams were nurtured.
“We had a talk after the match in the dressing room and the boys were down to tears. But we told them that they have done a great job, considering it was just the first or second season for many of them. Their performance this season speaks volumes of what they can achieve with experience. Also, the team spirit showed throughout the season was fantastic, which is why this team is so special. I believe in the years to come, we can definitely win the Ranji Trophy.”
Uthappa added that he had nurtured hopes of a victory right until the moment S Arvind was dismissed by Ajit Agarkar. “I never really thought we didn’t have chance,” Uthappa observed. “I had confidence even in our numbers ten and 11. We hoped they could pull off the win but credit should be given to Mumbai. They handled the pressure a little better.
“If Manish had batted till the end, it would have been great. But he and Satish batted really well and to take the team from 46 for three to 255 was a great effort. We will take heart from all these achievements.”
The skipper hasn’t had the best of seasons. “I have introspected about my performance,” he admitted. “I worked a lot and was confident coming in to the domestic season. I am not able to put a finger on what went wrong, it’s hard to explain because I was hitting the ball really well. I have tried my very best honestly and hopefully, I will come out of it soon.”