Ranji Trophy Final HIGHLIGHTS, Mumbai vs Vidarbha Day 4: VID 248/5, needs 290 more; Wadkar fights on

When 13 wickets fell on the first day, not many would have given good odds for this final to last the full five days. But a resolute partnership between Karun Nair and Akshay Wadkar, in Vidarbha’s chase of 538, ensured the teams will walk out on Thursday, even if Mumbai remains the favourite.

Can Wadkar manage the unthinkable and take his side all the way, or will Mumbai ensure the script plays out as expected and clinch its 42nd title. Tune in to Sportstar for the fifth day.

Harsh Dubey clears his front leg when Musheer over-pitches and tonks the ball over long on for SIX. Kotian bowls the final over of the day off which Wadkar gets a single through mid on.

FIFTY for Wadkar. Deshpande bowls a bouncer but it’s outside off and Wadkar upper cuts it over third man and picks a SIX. Seven runs from the over.

MUSHEER!! How will you keep him out of the game? He turns one from middle and leg and takes the ball away from Nair. A faint edge on it and the umpire gives it too. Nair has gone up. The UltraEdge confirms the edge and Mumbai has the wicket it so badly needed.

Karun Nair c Tamore b Musheer 74 (220)

Harsh Dubey starts with a boundary down to long off.

Deshpande back into the attack. Boundary riders on the on side suggesting there’s a bouncer-ploy coming against Nair. FOUR! After four well-directed short balls, Deshpande sends one on his ribs. Nair gets his bat onto it which runs all the way to the fence.

Mumbai has gone for a review on an LBW appeal. It is plumb if the ball has pitched in line. Given it is the big fish Nair, Rahane decides to take the chance. It is way outside the leg stump, ball tracker shows, and Mumbai loses a review.

Now we get to business, Dhawal Kulkarni back into the attack. Nair slashes the last delivery of the over to deep point to get one run. A hint of movement of the seam early on from the veteran pacer.

That did not take long. The umpire waves the second new ball in direction of the scorers. Shams Mulani bowls the first over and gives away just two runs from it.

A little more attack from this pair means the partnership is worth 74 runs all of a sudden. 

All eyes on Rahane as to when the second new ball is taken.

A slight uptick in the runs here as Vidarbha crosses 200 runs. Wadkar picks a boundary off Mulani through the mid on region. 

FIFTY for Karun Nair. He clips Musheer off his back foot to run two. It’s taken its time to come (174 deliveries) but has surely been a spirited innings.

Wadkar managed a sweep off Kotian in the previous over. Eight runs from that over.

Edged and there’s nobody at silly point. Musheer’s delivery pitches outside leg, turns in to the batter, gets an edge and pops up. Just two balls back Musheer had changed the silly point to short leg. Chance goes begging for Mumbai.

FOUR! Shardul is on the pads and Nair leans in on his front foot to flick it through square leg. Now Wadkar gets a FOUR! An out-of-control waft outside off takes an edge and the slip cordon watches it sail over their heads.

Sharp turn for Musheer from the off-stump line. He beats Nair on the final delivery of the over. Two runs from it with Nair nudging it to fine leg.

Shardul Thakur to resume proceedings. He fires in a yorker to Wadkar who is swift in getting his bat down and picking a single to mid on. Nair plays to deep point to run another single.

Mumbai has six wickets to pick, Vidarbha, well, has 383 runs to get. No guessing who the favourite is from hereon. Can Mumbai wrap up the contest today and take home its 42nd Ranji Trophy title?

Nair continues to defy the odds, unbeaten on 38 off 148 deliveries. Vidarbha adds only 51 runs to its tally in the 29 overs this session, also losing the two wickets of Yash Rathod and Aman Mokhade. Akshay Wadkar crucial for the side to continue this resistance, especially with Aditya Sarwate injured and his availability uncertain.

Another ‘Umpire’s Call’! Wadkar takes a long stride out and is struck on the pad. Mumbai reviews the ‘not out’ decision. The ball is hitting the stumps on the tracker but the impact is ‘Umpire’s Call’ and saves the Vidarbha skipper.

FOUR! Captain Akshay Wadkar is off the mark off his first delivery, gets a full length ball which he drives through covers. FOUR more! This time pummelled through mid-wicket.

Mumbai has gone up for another last-second review. Rathod is lbw, appeals the home side. Kotian is the bowler and he’s confident enough to convince his captain for a review. Three reds on the ball tracker and Kotian is ecstatic. Rathod tries to flick it off his back-foot but fails to connect.

Yash Rathod lbw b Kotian 7 (39)

A run out check at the non-striker’s end. Rathod plays back at the bowler, Mulani, who gets a hand on it before the ball crashes the stumps. But the replay shows that Nair is comfortably in his crease.

Karun Nair has now played 103 deliveries for 25 runs. He has dropped anchor and has survived the first hour of this session. But is it prudent to continue with this approach on a surface offering sharp turn?

In case you’re wondering about the rule after the close calls today, Sportstar has you covered.

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After eight overs of stonewalling, which got just 14 runs, a delivery from Musheer skids on and traps Mokhade leg before. He opts for a review. It’s an ‘Umpire’s Call’ on the wickets which means Mokhade will have to walk back. The partnership ends on 54.

Aman Mokhade lbw b Musheer 32(78)

Yash Rathod walks in, gets off the mark on the second delivery he faces. Karun Nair has been given lbw as well. He too goes upstairs. This time the ball is running down leg, and Nair survives.

No urgency from either Nair or Mokhade to get a move along. Eight runs from the first four overs of the afternoon session. The partnership is just two runs from completing a fifty run stand.

Nair and Mokhade see the session out and take Vidarbha to 104/2. It was the ideal start that the side could have hoped with Taide and Shorey bringing up a fifty-run partnership. However, Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian accounted for the pair in the space of three deliveries to rock the run chase. Vidarbha still 434 runs away from its destination.

Mumbai loses a review. Musheer’s delivery pitches on leg stump and turns away from Nair. The batter is beaten and the ball hits the back pad. But the turn is a little too much and takes the ball away from the off stump. 

Karun Nair cover drives off Deshpande to breach the rope, and bring up the 100 runs for Vidarbha. A single on the final delivery of the over.

Musheer Khan gets a delivery to go on with the angle and Mokhade is rapped on the front pad. Mumbai has reviewed the not out call. It is the umpire’s call only which saves the batter. The ball tracker shows it is clipping the leg stump but only just.

Tushar Deshpande has been brought back into the attack and has stuck to the off stump line, not making it easy for the batters to score.

DROPPED! Mokhade tries to sweep a full length delivery and top edges it. There is a fielder, Tanush Kotian, mid way through at fine leg. But he fails to hold the ball in, handing a repreive to Mokhade.

FOUR! Mokhade steps out against Kotian and drives him down the ground. 

In his previous over, Nair was handed a repreive. The delivery did not turn as much as Nair expected, and took an outside edge. Hardik Tamore gets a hand to it but the ball pops out, landing inches short of the short leg fielder.

Mumbai has found the solution to the flow of runs that Vidarbha enjoyed in the first hour of play. Mulani and Kotian keep the batters quiet. Mokhade and Nair looking to get an eye in and bring the innings on track.

DHRUV SHOREY IS OUT! He must feel hard done by the sharp turn. Kotian pitches the ball way, way outside off and sees the ball turn and crash into the middle stump. Both openers back in the hut for Vidarbha.

Dhruv Shorey b Kotian 28 (50)

So two new batters at the crease - Karun Nair and Aman Mokhade.

GONE! Taide is caught leg before trying to paddle sweep against Mulani. The first breakthrough for Mumbai. There was an appeal earlier in the over too but this time Taide is plumb.

Atharva Taide lbw b Mulani 32(64)

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What is the highest successful run chase in Ranji Trophy?

Vidarbha needs to get 538 runs against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2023/24 final being played at the Wankhede Stadium.

Spin from both ends with Tanush Kotian and Mulani. The batters look tentative at the crease with the odd delivery bouncing higher than normal. Shorey punches Mulani through mid on to get FOUR.

The 50-run opening stand comes up with Taide driving Deshpande down the ground. A positive start for the visitors.

Four runs from Shardul’s over. He puts in a leg slip for Taide and angles the ball into his body. But the leftie does well to curb his instinct of playing a shot. 

Mulani follows up with a maiden over.

Shams Mulani, who bowled one over on day three, is back into the attack. He should be the go-to man for Mumbai to extract turn out of the wicket and get the wickets. He starts with just two runs off his over.

Shorey opens his bat face against Kulkarni to guide the ball past gully for two runs.

Shardul Thakur tries a bouncer on Taide in the following over. Not too much trouble in ducking down, though. FOUR, on the pads and Taide trickles it down through fine leg. Shorey also collects a FOUR. A clip off his pads makes it nine runs from the over.

That also brings the required runs below 500 runs. Vidarbha needs 498 more.

Another boundary for Taide. He gets his bat in line but the ball seams away and takes an edge. Taide’s soft hands see the ball keep low and creep between the second slip and gully.

Mumbai has gone up for an lbw appeal. Taide is the man in question. Kulkarni has been moving the ball away but he gets this into the left-hander. Taide is beaten and struck on the front foot. The height saves Taide with the ball tracker showing ‘Umpire’s Call’ at the wickets. 

Shorey ends the eventful over with a cover drive for FOUR.

FOUR! Taide laps up width and cuts Kulkarni through the point region. There was a fielder in place but the southpaw is not afraid to fancy his chances. Slashes the last delivery again, but for a single to third man.

Atharva Taide and Dhruv Shorey take their place at either end of the pitch. The former will be on strike against Dhawal Kulkarni.

I feel good after yesterday. This was the best innings of my career. Now we want to get the opponents out and win. No, I found that out only in the evening (youngest centurion for Mumbai in Ranji finals). A proud achievement for me and my family. Coming from under-19 to here, I spoke to Sarfaraz bhai and he told me that the real cricket starts now. He just told me to focus on the process. After my dismissal in the first innings, when I walked out in the second, the match was still 50-50. I tried to put a price on my wicket. Having Ajinkya Rahane helps a lot. I learn so much with them. Shreyas bhai and Ajju bhai helped me out a lot in the middle.

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Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Diary: Showdown in Surat; Umesh Yadav fan favourite in Nagpur

Karnataka and Railways met in the group stage to produce an exhilarating match up at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat, with Manish Pandey staying till the end to take the former home with just one wicket in hand.

Though Dhruv Shorey and Atharva Taide cut out a confident picture in the two overs they were at crease on day three, getting the remaining 528 runs is going to be a tough ask out of the Vidarbha batters.

Mumbai’s youngest centurion in the Ranji Trophy final, Musheer Khan, shared how seeing Sachin Tendulkar inspired him to get a big score on day three of the match against Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy: Musheer Khan becomes youngest Mumbai player to score century in final, says ‘got motivation’ seeing Tendulkar in stands

Having scored a hundred in each innings in the first Ranji Trophy final he played in 1994-95, Tendulkar definitely knows the importance of the feat. Musheer Khan also became the second-youngest centurion in a Ranji Trophy final.

The live streaming of Day 4 of the Mumbai vs Vidarbha Ranji Trophy Final will be available on JioCinema from 9:15a.m.