Ranji Trophy 2017/18: We Are Planning For The Irani Cup as Well, Says Vidarbha Skipper Faiz Fazal

The two teams who will be playing the final of the Ranji Trophy 2017/18 were never in contention to reach to that stage.

While it was only the first time in the history of the tournament when Vidarbha made it to the semifinal, the lack of experienced players on the side was one of the biggest concerns for Delhi.

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Both the teams battled the odds and had made it to the last game. The contests between the two sides will be an epic one, as to term any of the teams favourite or underdog will not be the best thing to do.

Ahead of the contest, Faiz Fazal, the Vidarbha captain, has shown confidence and has even said the team is preparing to play Irani Cup – the tournament played between the winners of Ranji Trophy team and a Rest of India squad,

“As a team, we have a strong belief of winning the trophy. We want to win Ranji Trophy by all means. The preparation has been good, there is enough seriousness in the side and the unit is disciplined. I also believe that this is not the end; we are already planning for the Irani Cup as well. So, I think, there are two important games coming our way.,” he told Sportstar.

On being asked whether if it was a bit early to think about Irani Cup, the Vidarbha skipper played down the issue,

“Absolutely not. If we win the Ranji Trophy, then the entire team gets to play the Irani Cup, and that is something I want. Otherwise what happens is, only a few players get opportunities (for Rest of India), but I don’t want that. Our aim is to give chance to the whole team to play the Irani Cup,” he added.

Vidarbha had a tough task to get past Karnataka in the semifinal of the tournament. At the end of the third innings of the game, it looked like Karnataka will easily make it to the final stage, as they needed a mere target of 198 to win the game. But Rajneesh Gurbani scalped seven wickets in the fourth innings to topple Karnataka batting line-up, and Vidarbha won the game by just five runs.

In the later part of the game though, Karnataka had the upper hand when they needed just nine runs but Abhimanyu Mithun – who helped the side reach to this stage – tried to play a big shot and was caught. Gurbani followed up with the wicket of Sreenath Aravind and helped his side to reach the maiden final.

Vidarbha will face Delhi in the final of the Ranji Trophy at Holkar Stadium in Indore. Vidarbha has an experienced batting lineup while their bowling line-up is a bit inexperienced. Delhi side is inexperienced in both the departments and Gautam Gambhir is the only player with much experience.

The contest will be an evenly poised game with Vidarbha looking as a strong force ahead of the contest.

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