Watch Dhawal Kulkarni gets emotional after picking the final wicket of his domestic career as Mumbai win the Ranji Trophy final

Dhawal Kulkarni claimed the last wicket of his domestic career with a clean bowl that ensured Mumbai walked away from the iconic Wankhede stadium with their 42nd Ranji Trophy finale. The Mumbaikars defeated state rivals Vidarbha by 169 runs in a match where the hosts, after struggling initially, responded in the best way possible.

It was a match that required a lot of patience from Mumbai’s perspective as they were quickly pushed to the backfoot after Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat first. They were given a decent start by openers Prithvi Shaw and Bhupen Lalwani but after the latter’s departure, Vidarbha bowlers went on a roll, reducing Mumbai to 154/7 in a short period.

Mumbai had various individuals stand up for them when needed the most

It was then up to the competent tailenders to get Mumbai to a respectable 1st innings total and it was Shardul Thakur who took the onus and smashed 75 off 69 to help his side post 224 on the board. In response, the most successful Ranji outfit’s bowlers needed to do something special to not let Vidarbha get a sniff and so they did.

Dhawal Kulkarni led from the front along with Shardul Thakur and broke the back of Vidarbha’s batting order. The Mumbai bowlers did not let the opposing batters get going and even those who got off to good starts were eventually blown away. The only notable performers were Atharva Taide with his 23, Aditya Thakare with 19, and Yash Rathod who scored 27.

From Mumbai’s bowling front, Shardul was able to scalp opening batter Dhruv Shorey for 0 off 3. Dhawal Kulkarni who was playing his final competitive match racked up the wickets of Taide, Aman Mokhade (8), and Karun Nair (0). Elsewhere Shams Mulani got rid of Thakare, Akshay Wadkar (5), and Harsh Dubey (1), and the remaining wickets of Yash Rathod, Yash Thakur (16), and Umesh Yadav (0) were picked up by man of the tournament Tanush Kotian.

When Mumbai’s turn came for the 2nd innings, they required contribution from every single individual and except for the openers, most of the batters made their marks. Man of the match of the final Musheer Khan smacked an emphatic 136 off 326, and skipper Rahane scored 73 off 143. Number 5 batter Shreyas Iyer missed out on his century by just 5 runs and Shams Mulani provided the finishing touches with his 50 and helped Mumbai post 538 as the target.

Watch Dhawal Kulkarni’s last wicket of his cricketing career

𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐢!

Dhawal Kulkarni takes the final wicket as they beat Vidarbha by 169 runs in the @IDFCFIRSTBank #RanjiTrophy #Final in Mumbai

Brilliant performance from the Ajinkya Rahane-led side 👌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/k7JhkLhgT5 pic.twitter.com/Iu458SZF2F

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 14, 2024

Vidarbha had produced a very good response in their run-chase but it just wasn’t enough. The top order did get off to a good start but failed to capitalize and by the time the middle order got going it was too late. Though Karun Nair (74), Akshay Wadkar (102), and Harsh Dubey (65) tried their best the Mumbai bowlers picked wickets at regular intervals.

Mulani picked 1, Tanush Kotian starred with a 4-wicket haul while Tushar Deshpande and Musheer Khan registered a brace each. Dhawal Kulkarni gave himself a good send-off with the wicket of Umesh Yadav and signed off from domestic cricket in style.

During the post-match presentation, Dhawal Kulkarni stated that even if he has won the Ranji Trophy on 5 occasions before, the 6th one will always be the most special for him. Dhawal Kulkarni also thanked Ajinkya Rahane for letting him bowl in the final phase which eventually helped him take the final wicket of his final match.

“It’s a cricketer’s dream to start and finish on a high. This is my 6th final, 5th time we’ve won and this will be dear for me. It was an excellent gesture, I didn’t expect (Rahane would give him the ball to finish the game), but hats off for Tushar who gave the ball to me despite taking two wickets in an over. I’ve got experience as I’ve played with big stars, they’ve shared plenty of experience with me and I have passed the same to the younger lot.” – Dhawal Kulkarni said in the post-match presentation.