When was the last time Mumbai played a Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium?
Following Shardul Thakur's all-round heroics, Mumbai have sealed their spot in the Ranji Trophy 2024 Final. They trounced a strong Tamil Nadu side in the second semifinal by an innings and 70 runs at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai.
On a tricky batting surface, Tamil Nadu opted to bat first and could pile up only 146 runs, with Tushar Deshpande taking a three-wicket haul. In reply, Mumbai found themselves in huge trouble at 106/7 but their lower-order, led by Shardul Thakur, completely turned the game on its head.
While Tanush Kotian scored an unbeaten 89, Thakur slammed his maiden first-class hundred, scoring 109 off 104 balls. This led Mumbai to gain a huge first-innings lead of 232 runs. Mumbai bowlers then followed up with another superb performance in the third innings, bundling out Tamil Nadu for only 162 runs, thus winning the encounter by a gigantic margin.
With this, Mumbai have now qualified for the Ranji Trophy final a whopping 48 times, the most by any team in the illustrious tournament. They will now lock horns with either Madhya Pradesh or Vidharbha in the summit clash of Ranji Trophy 2024 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, starting from March 10.
On Monday (March 5), it was decided that the final will be played at the Wankhede Stadium. The venue has already hosted a Ranji Trophy final 10 times in history.
The last time Mumbai played a Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium was during the 2012-13 season against Saurashtra.
A Sachin Tendulkar-included Mumbai side beat Saurashtra at the Wankhede Stadium in the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 final
The Mumbai team achieved a dominant victory at the Wankhede Stadium when they met Saurashtra in the summit clash of the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 season.
The Mumbai side, which was led by former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar, included some big names. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Abhishek Nayar, and Dhawal Kulkarni all played the final. India's current white-ball superstar Suryakumar Yadav was also part of the team.
It was a dominant performance by Mumbai in the final as they bundled Saurashtra out for 148 and 82 across the two innings. While Tendulkar was run-out for 22, Wasim Jaffer hammered a fabulous 132, which led Mumbai to score 355, thus winning the encounter by an innings and 125 runs.
The icing on the cake was put by Dhawal Kulkarni, who bagged nine wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings. Skipper Agarkar also took five wickets in the match.