Mumbai Win 39th Ranji Trophy Title After Thrilling Finish Against Karnataka

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Sreelata YellamrazuJan 14 2010

The news stealer of the day had to be Mumbai winning the Ranji Trophy for the 39th time and this time by a margin of just six runs in Mysore!

manish pandey 1

When Mumbai were bowled out in the first innings for 230 (Vinayak Samant standing out for his sixty-seven run innings) in the Ranji Trophy final, there was a sense of despondency. But that all changed once Karnataka were cleaned up for 130. Vinay Kumar's four wickets were clearly overshadowed by Avishkar Salvi's five-for.

With a significant lead, Mumbai were expected to pile on. But they were not allowed to get away with the freedom they would have enjoyed. Abhishek Nayyar's half century and Dhawal Kulkarni's eighty-seven helped Mumbai set a target of 338 after A Mithun rocked Mumbai with six wickets.

What Mumbai perhaps did not expect though was a tough fightback from Karnataka, certainly not within touching distance of stealing the match. But it was made possible by the likes of Ganesh Satish and the huge innings of Manish Pandey.

If Karnataka still saw hope at the end of the third day's, it was because of Satish's seventy-five runs but also, Pandey who scored a magnificent 144 which really set Karnataka skyrocketing in their dreams.

Credit must then go to Dhawal Kulkarni and Ajit Agarkar for continuing to persist despite the threat looming large. Ultimately it was the man with the five wicket haul, Agarkar, who took a caught and bowled to seal Karnataka's second innings at 331, tantalizingly six short of what would have been a great victory.

Mumbai were not just celebrating, they were breathing a sigh of relief, as the Mumbai captain, Wasim Jaffer, was happy to cap another one to his name!

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