Vidarbha Crowned as Ranji Trophy 2017-18 Champions after thrashing depleted Delhi

Vidarbha batsmen in the form of Wasim Jaffer and Sanjay Ramaswamy were over the moon when the former struck a boundary to cruise past the meagre target of just 29, to be crowned as the champions of the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 grand finale against Delhi at Holkar Stadium on Monday evening (January 1, 2018).

Valiant Triumph

Performances by Vidarbha players in many ways is remarkable and it is a good sign for the cricket to grow far and wide in the nutshell as the state-side has become an overall eighteenth team in the history of Ranji to lifted the coveted domestic title while winning the eagerly-awaited finale by nine wickets.

Have a look at the celebration from Jaffer, before his partner embraced him with immeasurable joy- isn’t it an unbelievable scene to scenes?

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The first innings hero Akshay Wadkar had set the plinth before Akshay Wakhare eked out wickets at his will – to see Delhi stumbling and Rajneesh Gurbani has been the poster boy of this Ranji season with the red-ball.

Secondly, Jaffer, who featured in overall nine Ranji finals, but registered the winning runs for the first time when Kulwant Khejroliya kept on ball short on the leg which saw the senior campaigner out of all his experience finding the fence with ease – to see riveting scenes unfolding in Indore.

Cherry in the frame:

The star performer Gurbani was named Man of the final, who went on to finish the grand finale with the figures of eight for 151 in 42.4 overs and he finished the Ranji season with 39 wickets in six games.

“It was a dream come true. I used to dream about the trophy. Very pleased to get the hat-trick and contribute to the team’s victory. We are satisfied and we want to see the trophy. We will look to do well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy too,” Gurbani quipped.

Wadkar to Wakhare – Vidarbha sums it up:

The off-spinner Wakhare was the pick of the bowlers with the figures of four for 95 in 28 overs, as left-arm orthodox spinner Aditya Sarwate bagged three wickets which further saw Gurbani settling with two scalps and Siddhesh Neral dismissed opposition leader and gloveman Pant.

Title wait and the weight of the trophy:

It has been an incredible achievement for the Faiz Fazal-led Vidarbha – to lift their maiden title after featuring in the first-ever Ranji finale against seven-time champion Delhi.

“Really worked for the trophy. A fairytale. Months of training has paid off. The bowlers did really well in the first innings and that set the tone for us. This is really a team effort,” excited Fazal sheds light on Vidarbha’s journey.

As Vidarbha chased down the target in five overs, Delhi was able to claim the wicket of Fazal (2 off 3) when left-arm bowler Kulwant Khejroliya trapped him in front of the wickets.

Moreover, Jaffer scored 17 off 17 and Ramaswamy faced ten balls to score nine which further saw both embracing each other in the middle of the ground — to cherish the scripting of the history.

Rock and roll:

Mighty impressive Vidarbha had a prolific start of the year 2018 which further saw skipper Fazal found it difficult to lift the 15kg trophy, before handing it over two his delighted teammates.

Not less than a fairytale and no one would have had thought Vidarbha could spring a spring by trouncing top-notch teams of the tournament, but the dedication has been the key which subsequently basked the glory for the well-oiled unit.

“We always wanted the trophy. After every match, we wanted the trophy, and we finally have it in our kitty,” Gurbani expressed satisfaction.

Before Delhi went on to start off second innings, Vidarbha had already availed the massive lead of 252 runs which further saw the Rishabh Pant-led side crumbled under pressure.

Delhi title prospect dent:

Delhi was restricted to 280 in 76 overs, as Nitish Rana was the top-scorer with 64 off 113, as first innings centurion Dhruv Shorey registered 62 off 142 balls and with his wicket the floodgates were opened up.

Earlier, Delhi lost opener Kunal Chandela on nine when the team score was 32 in 8.5 overs before experienced campaigner Gautam Gambhir opted for the aggressive brand of cricket, but his innings was caught short after smashing seven boundaries in his total off 37-ball 36.

Like a passing shower:

There were just two highlights of Delhi’s second innings the first one was 104-run partnership between Shorey and Rana and another came when Vikas Mishra and Akash Sudan fought hard being as tail-enders

However, the gritty ninth-wicket partnership saw Delhi avoiding the loss by an innings.

Earlier, in the day Vidarbha finished their first innings with the whopping total of 547, as the team went on to lose all three wickets at the same score which saw right-arm fast bowler Navdeep Saini registering the five-wicket haul.