The Ranji Trophy final will go into the fifth day now, as Vidarbha’s Karun Nair (74), and skipper Akshay Wadkar (56) resisted the Mumbai bowling attack, to end Wednesday’s proceedings on 248/5, still requiring 290 for an improbable title victory. After being set a target of 538, Vidarbha lost openers Atharva Taide and Dhruv Shorey in quick succession, but the batsmen to follow ensured, that their team didn’t suffer a collapse.
Mumbai bowlers largely remained effective on the day, and contained runs, but found it difficult to wrap up the match, as Nair & & Wadkar held the fort for over 300 deliveries, combined. Star with the bat in the first innings, Musheer Khan picked up two wickets, and so did Tanush Kotian, with Shams Mulani picking up one as well.
Mumbai Tipped to Lift Trophy Again
But despite the resistance by Vidarbha, after a poor first innings outing with the bat, Mumbai are the heavy favorites to lift their title no. 42. After all, their batsmen and bowlers left no stone unturned to put their side in a position of strength. In the first innings, after Mumbai scored 224, Dhawal Kulkarni, Kotian, and Mulani bagged three wickets each, to dismiss Vidarbha for 105.
Thereafter, Musheer (136), and under-fire Shreyas Iyer (95), powered Mumbai to 418 for setting a record target of over 500.
Vidarbha Face Herculean Task
With 540 balls still left in the match, with only five wickets left for Vidarbha, a victory is still out of question for them. They would have to come up with something special to draw the match. Even that wouldn’t be enough to give Mumbai the title. The only way out for them is to go for the target, and hope for a miracle to win.
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