Mumbai stroll into Ranji Trophy final

Having done all the hard work over the previous four days, Mumbai completed formalities before securing their place in the Ranji Trophy final following a resounding performance against Uttar Pradesh here on Saturday.

Heavy overnight rain at the Just Cricket Academy ground wiped out the opening session on the final day, a situation that suited both Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh actually. Mumbai, already 662 runs ahead, had booked their date for next week’s final and were having a gala time in the dressing room, celebrating the inevitable conclusion by playing games and bantering with each other.

In the adjacent dressing room, a downcast and battered UP were hoping they don’t have to step out and bowl, a pointless exercise considering there was no way back for them. Their wish was granted temporarily as the opening session was called off but they were forced to bowl in the second. They went through the motions for 16 overs before Mumbai put them out of their misery, declaring at 533/4 at 2:25 pm.

Mumbai will take on Madhya Pradesh, who beat Bengal by 174 runs in the other semifinal, in the final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium from June 22.

It’s safe to say Mumbai, the 41-time champions, will start overwhelming favourites against Madhya Pradesh, who last played a Ranji final in 1998-99 and suffered a heart-breaking defeat against Karnataka. Although only Dhawal Kulkarni and Prithvi Shaw from the current Mumbai side have featured in a Ranji Trophy final (2016-17 vs Gujarat), literally every department is firing in unison for the undisputed kings of domestic cricket.

Their batters have been in wonderful form with the young Yashasvi Jaiswal slamming centuries in both innings of the semifinal. Arman Jaffer, the nephew of domestic great Wasim Jaffer, too hit a ton while Suved Parkar had made a double century in the quarterfinal. Hardik Tamore, playing his first game of the season in the semis, smashed a century in the first innings.

Head coach Amol Muzumdar was visibly pleased with the way the next-gen was carrying forward the Mumbai batting legacy, showering special praise on Jaiswal. “Every Ranji Trophy final is a big occasion for every youngster who comes into the team. I am really happy with the form of all the batters and everyone included, all 11 who have been playing. They have been contributing from their end and it’s nice to see the Generation Next from the Mumbai batsmanship as you can call it taking over. Last couple of games, you have seen the demo of it.

“I think it has been fantastic to see the way he (Jaiswal) has batted. Especially in the first innings, it was a big challenge to bat on that surface. There was some help, it was a little spicy, the pitch. But he applied himself really well. To come immediately after the IPL final and join the team the very next day has shown his commitment. And the kind of commitment he has shown with the bat, especially opening the innings, it has been wonderful to see.”