Ranji Trophy 2024 final to be held in Mumbai - Reports

Mumbai will be hosting the final of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. As per the reports in Sportstar, it is learned that iconic Wankhede Stadium will be the venue for the summit clash of the prestigious tournament, to be played from Sunday (10th March).

This comes after Mumbai thumped Tamil Nadu in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side pounded the opposition by a massive margin of innings and 70 runs in the semifinal on Monday (4th March) at the Bandra Kurla Complex to book a berth in the final of the tournament.

This is the 48th time that Mumbai have qualified for the final of the Ranji Trophy. They have won the title 43 times, which speaks volumes about their dominance in the league. In the ongoing edition, they bossed the league stage and finished with the highest points tally in the Elite division, bagging 37 points in seven games.

In the semi-final, Mumbai was brilliant with bat and ball. They were asked to bowl first and they did an exceptional job with the ball. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side bundled out the opposition for just 146 runs with Tushar Deshpande picking three wickets whereas Shardul Thakur, Musheer Khan, and Tanush Kotian bagged two scalps.

With the bat, Mumbai struggled to get going as they were left tottering at 106/7. But it was Shardul Thakur who changed the course of the game and brought them back into the game. He slammed his maiden FC century and ended with a knock of 109 runs that put Tamil Nadu under immense pressure.

Tanush Kotian (89*) then played a vital hand down the order and helped Mumbai take a big first-innings lead. They added a 232-run lead and then were exceptional with the ball in the second innings. They bundled out Tamil Nadu for 162 runs to win the game by a massive margin.

Shams Mulani picked four wickets whereas Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, and Tanush Kotian bagged two scalps each. Mumbai will now be facing either Vidarbha or Madhya Pradesh in the summit clash, which will be played at their home ground on 10th March.

Scoring a century is a big, big relief – Shardul Thakur after scoring a century for Mumbai

Shardul Thakur after his valiant effort with the bat for Mumbai spoke about his international comeback. He believes that he is not thinking too far ahead but scoring a ton is a big relief for him. He highlighted the importance of his knock at that time for the team. He stated:

“I think an international comeback is far from now because the Test team is out already for the fifth game and after this, we are going into the IPL so it’s far. I am not thinking that far. But yes, scoring a century is a big, big relief and it was very important for the team at that point of time.”

Shardul Thakur ended with an innings of 109 in 105 balls. He hit 13 fours and 4 sixes in his innings. His knock came at a time when his side was down and dusted. With the ball, he picked up four wickets in the game. For his valiant effort, he was awarded Player of the Match.