Picture Credit: Twitter
It was an emotional moment for every member of the Madhya Pradesh team when they beat Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final to lift the trophy. More than anyone else, Chandrakant Pandit, the coach of Madhya Pradesh looked elated and had a sense of satisfaction on his face. Pandit, who once returned teary-eyed when MP lost to Karnataka in 1999 under his leadership had a broad smile on his face this time.
The Madhya Pradesh coach was seen thanking the almighty and then turning to the crowd with folded hands when Rajat Patidar hit the winning run. He was then seen wiping the small tears rolling down his eyes on this memorable win. The players then lifted the coach on their shoulders and gave him the respect he deserved.
Watch the moment here:
Madhya Pradesh script history!
Now coming to the match, it was a performance of the ages by the Madhya Pradesh team to beat mighty Mumbai to lift their maiden title in the elite domestic tournament. Everyone played their role to perfection to bring the ultimate glory to the team. While Yash Dubey, Shubham Sharma, and Rajat Patidar stepped up with the bat in hand, it was Kumar Kartikeya, Anubhav Agarwal, and Gaurav Yadav with the ball.
It was a near-perfect performance from Madhya Pradesh to pin down the most successful team of the tournament. After conceding 374 in the first innings with the ball, the MP batters stepped up when it was their turn with the bat. Yash Dubey and Shubham Sharma put on a show as they stitched a 222-run partnership for the second wicket. It was followed by two other brilliant partnerships between Rajat Patidar, Yash Dubey, and Aditya Shrivastava. While Patidar and Dubey put on 72 runs for the third wicket, Patidar and captain Shrivastava scored 60 runs for the fourth wicket.
What was started by Yash Dubey was finished by Saransh Jain who scored 57 off 97 balls and helped MP take a 162-run lead in the first innings. After a super job by the batters, the MP bowlers rose to the occasion and stopped Mumbai to 269 setting a target of 108 for themselves. Shubham Sharma and Rajat Patidar did the job with the bat yet again and brought the trophy home for Madhya Pradesh.