Nagpur, March 2 Vidarbha have lifted the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 title by virtue of taking the first-innings lead against Kerala in the final at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha on Sunday.
It was Vidarbha's third title and the first since 2018-19 when they won on the trot. Vidarbha were 375/9 in their second innings, having a gigantic 412-run lead on the final day before both teams shook hands to culminate the summit clash.
Vidarbha's 37-run first-inning lead proved decisive for them to bag their third title after Danish Malewar played a knock of 153 runs while in-form Karun Nair slammed 86 runs in the first innings to stage a fightback after reeling at 24/3.
On the bowling front, Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade and Darshan Nalkande picked three scalps each to restrict Kerala to 342, giving Vidarbha an edge in the summit clash, who posted 379/10 in their first innings.
In Vidarbha's second essay, first innings heroes Daniash Malewar and Karun Nair continued from where they left and again played crucial knocks for the side. Vidarbha were 7/2 after losing openers Parth Rekhade and Dhruv Shorey early. However, Malewar and Nair stitched a comeback partnership of 182 runs for the third wicket. Malewar departed after scoring 73 runs while Nair went on to smash his ninth century of the season and second in the tournament final.
Aditya Sarwate got the dismissal of Nair, who departed after scoring 135 runs studded with two sixes and 10 fours. Despite losing three middle-order wickets at quick intervals, Darshan Nalkande and Akshay Karnewar added vital 48 runs for the eighth-wicket partnership. Nalkande remained unbeaten on 51 while Karnewar played a knock of 30 before being dismissed by Nedumankuzhy Basil.
Malewar was named Player of the Match for scoring 226 runs in the match, while all-rounder Harsh Dubey bagged the Player of the Tournament accolade for amassing 476 runs and grabbing 69 wickets, the most in a single season of the tournament's history.
"It's a dream-come-true moment. We lost the final last year. Akshay bhai is retiring, so for him, it's a big thing. In the off-season, I worked on my fitness and skills. This is a result of all that. I have a simple plan: take it one game at a time. I try to bowl in the right areas. I wouldn't call myself a bowling allrounder; rather, I'm a batting allrounder. I love batting! The end goal is to play for India, and I don't want to complicate things thinking about it from now. I'll start (preparing) again soon," Dubey said in the post-match presentation.
Reflecting on the season, Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar shared his elation on the title win after finishing on the losing end in last year's final.
"It was the last day of the season. Everyone worked hard throughout, and we're all very happy. Last year, we lost the final. So we prepared during the monsoon itself. Every individual worked on himself. There are four Vidarbha batters among the top ten run-getters this season. Harsh Dubey is the highest wicket-taker. Yash and Danish can turn a game around. Yash is the highest run-getter, and he scored runs at crucial stages. Danish added 215 (with Nair) from a crucial time - even in the second innings. He showed toughness," he said.
"As a captain, if you're playing the Ranji Trophy, I had a dream to lift it. Every first-class cricketer has that dream, and we've fulfilled that. We're ticking all aspects, and we'll look at what we can work on in the off-season."
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