5 players to have scored multiple hundreds in Ranji Trophy finals ft. Akshay Wadkar
Mumbai defeated Vidarbha by 169 runs in the final of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday to clinch their 42nd title.
While neither team was able to put up a big total on the board in the first innings, the second innings saw big scores galore from each side. Musheer Khan was the star for Mumbai with a ton while Shreyas Iyer missed out on his hundred by a mere five runs. In response, Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar too scored a century, his second in a Ranji Trophy final - the first coming in 2017-18.
In this listicle, we bring to you five players who have scored multiple hundreds in the Ranji Trophy finals.
#1 Akshay Wadkar
Vidarbha captain and wicketkeeper-batter is among those few modern-day cricketers who have scored tons in two Ranji Trophy finals.
Wadkar scored his first in the final of the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy, which Vidarbha won by beating Delhi at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. He stroked his way to another in the final of the 2023-24 edition at the Wankhede against Mumbai on Thursday.
However, the knock that he scored against Mumbai - a superb rearguard action initiated when Vidarbha seemed to be in deep trouble - could not help convert the result into a win for his team.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar
How can it be that one mentions the Ranji Trophy and leaves the legendary Sachin Tendulkar out of the conversation? The 'God of Cricket' scored tons in the finals of the 1994-95 and 1999-2000 seasons when Mumbai beat Punjab and Hyderabad, respectively.
Tendulkar had already become a sensation for India by then, and these centuries went on to affirm the kind of adulation he enjoyed from the supporters of Mumbai for turning out to play for them amid his hectic international assignments.
The latter final - 1999-2000 - was special because Hyderabad, and especially VVS Laxman, were in rampaging form that season.
#3 Amol Muzumdar
Another Mumbai maestro, Amol Muzumdar, finds himself on this list. He had first scored a ton for his team in the final of the 1996-97 season against Delhi in Gwalior. The right-handed batter picked up his second against Tamil Nadu in the final of the 2003-04 season played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The former was historic in the sense that it was the first time that the final of the Ranji Trophy had been played under floodlights.
Indeed, the Captain Roop Singh Stadium was lit up for this momentous occasion with Muzumdar adding his two cents to it. It was rather unfortunate that Muzumdar could not go on to play for India despite being a domestic behemoth.
#4 Dinesh Karthik
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, too, is among the handful of cricketers to have scored multiple tons in the finals of the Ranji Trophy.
Karthik first achieved this feat when he scored 109 in a losing cause for Tamil Nadu in the 2003-04 final against Mumbai. He repeated it eight years later in the final of the 2011-12 season against Rajasthan in Chennai.
He repeated it yet again in the final of the 2014-15 season against Karnataka when he picked up 120 in the second innings in Mumbai.
Karthik was a domestic giant and rightfully represented the national team in 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 60 T20Is. He has announced his decision to retire from cricket at the end of this season's IPL.
#5 Rahul Dravid
'The Great Wall of India', Rahul Dravid, who currently dons the role of head coach of the Indian national team, finds himself on this list owing to the tons he scored in the finals of the 1995-96 and 1997-98 seasons.
While the first ton came against Tamil Nadu at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the second came two years later at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium against Uttar Pradesh.
The second ton, in 1997-98, was especially sweet for Dravid given that he converted it into a double-century, ending with a final score of 215 to his name.