Ranji Trophy final: Karun Nair fights bravely but Musheer Khan puts Mumbai in total control

A loud, desperate cry from Musheer Khan did not move the umpire but it woke up a couple of young men, sitting next to the Sachin Tendulkar statue, on the uppermost row of the Vijay Merchant Pavilion, from their nap.

The gentle sun and mild sea breeze made the stand an ideal location for an afternoon siesta. Even the band in the MCA Pavilion, brought in to celebrate Mumbai’s 42nd Ranji Trophy title, sat in silence. And there wasn’t the risk of missing out on any action. For, there wasn’t a lot. At least it felt like that.

After Mumbai challenged them with a mammoth target of 538 in the Ranji Trophy final, Vidarbha had two templates to choose from. One, by Musheer Khan who batted for more than seven hours for his century. And then there was the Shreyas Iyer – absent from the field on Wednesday – way, an aggressive approach from the get-go to get close to a ton inside two hours. Vidarbha chose the former.

To their credit, they took the match to Day 5, which would have been their first target. At the same time, the two-time winners still find themselves needing 290 runs to win and the onus to pull off the unlikeliest of heists is on their lower order. At stumps on Day 4, Vidarbha were 248/5 chasing 538.

The joy of hitting a 💯 in #RanjiTrophy #Final 😃

A motivational chat with brother Sarfaraz Khan 💬

Celebration ft. father Naushad Khan 🙌

On the mic 🎙️ with Mumbai Magician Musheer Khan – By @jigsactin@IDFCFIRSTBank | #MUMvVID | @MumbaiCricAssoc pic.twitter.com/BtLWHStraC

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 13, 2024

Things might not have looked so ominous for Vidarbha had Mumbai not taken the most important wicket of Karun Nair with just half an hour left in the day. It was barely surprising that it was Musheer who provided the breakthrough.

The 19-year-old has played in just 5 innings for Mumbai this season but has had an oversized impact on their performances. The 433 runs at an average of more than 100 have put Mumbai closer than ever to ending their Ranji title drought. But it’ll be doing him an injustice if Musheer’s contribution is seen merely through stats.

It’s his ability to grind, as well as the energy he brings to the field, that’s infectious. After batting for nearly 500 minutes across the second and third days, Musheer bowled 20 overs on Wednesday. At some level, Musheer knew the bowlers might have to toil as the pitch had very little to offer. And toil he did, but at no stage did he look tired or a lack of heart, even when Vidarbha were merely blocking the balls.

Musheer constantly tested the batsmen’s defence and got the ball to turn just enough to keep the close-in fielders interested. After bowling like that the whole day, he was rewarded with the big wicket of Nair.

Musheer pitched the ball full, around the middle and off, and got it to drift in. Nair stepped forward to defend but the ball turned away and kissed the outside edge. Wicket-keeper Hardik Tamore safely pouched the catch, after he had dropped Nair when he was at 4.

Fifty for Karun Nair 🙌

A patient knock so far from the Vidarbha batter.#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank | #Final | #MUMvVID

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/k7JhkLhOID pic.twitter.com/mLYGoeWATM

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 13, 2024

Nair stood like a statue, fully aware of the consequence of his rare error. When he finally started walking back to the dugout – after a failed review that he took against all hope – the motley Wankhede crowd got on its feet. It was for Musheer but they might as well be applauding Nair’s slow-burn innings.

It was a kind of knock that’s largely out of fashion these days. He took 43 balls to hit his first boundary, a drive through the covers off pacer Tushar Deshpande. The shot also took Vidarbha’s score past 100 – in the 36th over. It took Vidarbha another 42 overs to reach 200 while Nair took 222 minutes for his 50.

Alongside captain Akshay Wadkar (56 not out), Nair dealt largely in singles and although there was an odd attempt to hit a reverse sweep, he never really managed to connect. Barring those shots, it was a largely chanceless innings. Until he finally fell to Musheer.

The wicket, he knows, is a potential game-changer. “I think we need to be realistic. It’s a tough task,” he said of the challenge that Vidarbha now face. “I can say something about the team, they have the character. (But) I would have loved to be batting overnight.”

Nair knows that had he stayed on, there would have been slight anxiety when Mumbai would have come out on Thursday even though they’d have remained the favourites. Especially after making the Mumbai bowlers grind all day on Wednesday.

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His wicket leaves the lower order exposed and with 290 runs still to get, Mumbai now have one hand on the trophy. Safe to say, when they return on Thursday, there will be few napping in the stands and the dhol wallahs won’t be silent.

Brief scores: Mumbai 224 and 418 vs Vidarbha 105 and 248/5 (Karun Nair 74, Akshay Wadkar 56*; Musheer Khan 2/38, Tanush Kotian 2/56). Vidarbha need 290 more runs to win

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