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

Musheer Khan, 19, became the youngest Mumbai player to score a hundred in a Ranji Trophy final, pushing Tendulkar down to fourth in the list.

Mumbai’s Musheer Khan celebrates after scoring his century during the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/The Hindu

Four months since watching Virat Kohli score his record 50th ODI hundred in the World Cup semifinal, Sachin Tendulkar returned to the Wankhede Stadium president’s box on Tuesday morning for the third day’s opening session of the Ranji Trophy final.

Soon after lunch, Musheer Khan, 19, became the youngest Mumbai player to score a hundred in a Ranji Trophy final, pushing Tendulkar down to fourth in the list. While Tendulkar gave Musheer a standing ovation when he and Shreyas Iyer walked back during the lunch break, Musheer was thrilled to have Tendulkar in the gallery to watch him bat.

In fact, Musheer admitted that he realised Tendulkar was in the gallery almost halfway through the openig session.

“I didn’t even know that Sachin sir had come. Only when I got past 60, I saw Sachin sir on the screen (at the stadium),” he said.

“That’s when I got the motivation that thodasa unko dikhana hai aaj batting karke (I have to impress him with my batting).”

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. No wonder then that Musheer – who became the second-youngest centurion in a Ranji Trophy final - was thrilled with scoring a ton in his maiden Ranji Trophy final.

“I am very happy for scoring a century in the final. It was a dream for me to score a century in the Ranji Trophy final. We had a good partnership, we communicated well and (Iyer) bhai was insisting that we have to bat for a long period and take the game as far as we can,” Musheer said.

Vidarbha spinner, Harsh Dubey elated

While Musheer had his father-cum-coach Naushad watching from the stands, another family in the gallery was elated with their son’s feat. Harsh Dubey, the Vidarbha left-arm spinner, picked his maiden five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket.

“Being the first, that too in a Ranji final and with my family having come down to watch it makes it even more special,” Dubey said.

Youngest centurions in Ranji Trophy final

Amit Sharma (18 years, 127 days) for Punjab vs Maharashtra at Ludhiana in 1992-93

Musheer Khan (19 years, 14 days) for Mumbai vs Vidarbha at Mumbai (W) in 2023-24

Youngest centurions for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy final:

Musheer Khan (19 years 14 days) vs Vidarbha at Mumbai (W) in 2023-24

Rusi Modi (20 years 113 days) vs Holkar at Mumbai (B) in 1944-45

Sunil Gavaskar (20 years 177 days) vs Rajasthan at Mumbai (B) in 1969-70

Sachin Tendulkar (21 years 337 days) vs Punjab in Mumbai (W) in 1994-95

Stats courtesy: Tushar Trivedi