Mumbai 411 (Tare 83, Suryakumar 73, Nayar 58, Thakur 52, Shankar 4-59) & 251 for 4 (Shaw 120) beat Tamil Nadu 305 (Indrajith 64, Nayar 4-66, Thakur 4-75) & 356 for 6 dec (Indrajith 138, Abhinav 122) by six wickets
Scorecard
That Mumbai did not so much storm as saunter into their second successive Ranji Trophy final and their 46th in all – a six-wicket win over Tamil Nadu in two sessions will qualify as nothing less – will gladden them for more than one reason. Firstly, it was a strong opening partnership, an elusive ingredient all season, that set up the chase of 251 on the final day.
Secondly, and more importantly, it was Prithvi Shaw, a 17-year-old debutant, that was in the vanguard with a fearless hundred. During the course of his 175-ball 120, Shaw also became the first Mumbai batsman to score a hundred on Ranji Trophy debut in more than two decades, after Amol Muzumdar last achieved the feat in 1993-94.
If one delivery were to sum up the contrasting fortunes of Shaw and Tamil Nadu, it was the second ball of the 51st over. Shaw, on 99, steered Vijay Shankar to gully, and as B Indrajith completed the catch, he was shattered. Even as Shaw tried to drag himself off the field, the umpires asked him to wait to check for the no ball.
As it turned out, Shankar had overstepped; Suryakumar Yadav instantly went up to Shaw and patted his shoulder. Four balls later, Shaw steered Shankar to gully again. But, this time the ball went along the ground and Suryakumar dashed to the danger end. As Shaw’s helmet came off to reveal his pubescent face, the magnitude of his achievement on the big stage hit home.
Full report to follow…
Arun Venugopal is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @scarletrun
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo