Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 14 : Following his side's Ranji Trophy title win for the 42nd time, Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane said that this season, the team wanted to create a great culture and atmosphere in the dressing room, so that players could go out and express themselves.
Mumbai clinched their 42nd Ranji Trophy title following their 169-run victory over Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.
Following the win, Rahane told ANI, "We had to wait for several years for this title. For the last 4-5 years, we have played really great cricket. Even the last year, we did not qualify for knockouts, but we played some great cricket. This year, we wanted to make a great team culture and atmosphere in the dressing room, so that guys could go out and express themselves and enjoy the game."
He also lauded Dhawal Kulkarni, who ended his first-class cricket career for Mumbai, for his contributions to the side for 17 years.
"This victory is really special. The cricket we played as a team was magnificent. Really happy for Dhawal Kulkarni, who played for Mumbai for 17 years. The experience and knowledge he shared with all and the contributions he made has been amazing," said Rahane.
Rahane had a very disappointing Ranji with the bat. In eight matches, the Indian middle-order veteran scored just 214 runs in 13 innings at an average of 17.83, with just two half-centuries. His best score was 73.
Also, the young U19 sensation Musheer Khan also expressed happiness at the team's win and shared the advice of his father Naushad Khan.
"We are happy to be 42-time champions. It is a matter of pride and happiness that we have won after so many years. I do not have any words to express. My father told me to play it as a normal match and focus on your process," said Musheer.
He also said that senior Test players like Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur etc guided the youngsters really well.
"They did not make us feel nervous but they made us feel that they were one of us," said Musheer.
On taking the next steps in his career, like playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) and making his international debut, Musheer said, "Not focusing on IPL and Team India debut. I want to focus on my process, and enjoy the game. Taking it one game, one day at a time."
Coming to the match, Vidarbha opted to bowl first and bundled out Mumbai for 224 in their first innings, with Shardul Thakur (75) and Prithvi Shaw (46) doing the bulk of the scoring. Yash Thakur (3/54) and Harsh Dubey (3/62) were the top bowlers.
Mumbai got a 119-run first-innings lead as Shams Mulani (3/32), Tanush Kotian (3/7) and Dhawal (3/15) bundled out Vidarbha for 105 runs with Yash Rathod scoring 27 and Atharva Taide 23.
Mumbai's overall lead increased to 537 runs as century from Musheer Khan (136), fifties from Shreyas Iyer (95), Rahane (73) and Mulani (50) took Mumbai to 418 runs in their second innings. Harsh Dubey (5/144) was the pick of the bowlers for Vidarbha.
Chasing 538, Vidarbha was 223/5, but a 130-run partnership between skipper Akshay Wadkar (102) and Harsh Dubey (65) gave them a chance to fight. Tanush Kotian (4/95) was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers, Tushar Deshpande and Musheer got two wickets while Dhawal and Mulani got one as they all restricted Vidarbha to 368 runs, winning the game by 169 runs.
Musheer was the 'Player of the Match' with his century and two wickets in the second innings. In three matches for Mumbai, he scored 433 runs at an average of 108.25, with two centuries and a fifty. His best score was 203*.
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