When was the last time Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy?
One of the main reasons why Mumbai are known as a powerhouse of domestic cricket is because of their incredible Ranji Trophy record. The domestic giants have won the tournament a staggering 41 times, by far the most by any team.
During the period from the 1958/59 season to the 1972/73 season, Mumbai won a mind-boggling 15 back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles. They have also made it to 48 finals in total, with the latest being the ongoing game against Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium.
They came close to their 42nd title during the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy season, only to lose to Madhya Pradesh in the final. However, let's take a look at the last instance of the domestic giants winning the coveted title:
Mumbai beat Saurashtra in the 2015/16 Ranji Trophy final
It was during the 2015/16 season that Mumbai went all the way and clinched their 41st Ranji Trophy title under the leadership of Aditya Tare. The wicketkeeper won the toss at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune and had no hesitation in putting Saurashtra into bat first.
Arpit Vasavda scored a fine 77 and Prerak Mankad down the order contributed with an important 66 to give Saurashtra some kind of respectability to their first-innings total. A five-wicket haul from Dhawal Kulkarni helped his team restrict the opposition to just 235.
Mumbai got off to a poor start as they lost both their openers cheaply. However, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav got together and added a mammoth 153 runs for the third wicket, resurrecting their innings. Despite a fine hundred from Iyer (117), Saurashtra kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals.
At 268/9, both teams would have believed the match was evenly poised. However, Balwinder Sandhu hung around with Siddesh Lad and the duo added 103 runs for the final wicket and frustrated Saurashtra. Lad (88) and Sandhu (34)'s partnership put their team decisively ahead in the game.
Saurashtra had to overcome the trail of 136 runs to make their opposition bat again, but it wasn't to be as they were bundled out for just 115. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with stunning figures of 5/26.
It was yet another instance of how Mumbai flexed their muscles on the way to a Ranji Trophy title with a win by an innings and 21 runs.