The Win Is No Less Than A Fairytale, Says Vidarbha Skipper Faiz Fazal

Vidarbha’s elated skipper Faiz Fazal rightly called his team’s historic triumph in the just-concluded Ranji Trophy a “fairytale.” In fact, the veteran batsman went on to claim that the title-winning feat is better than the moment when he donned the Indian jersey.

Nobody had given even an outside chance to Vidarbha to progress far in the tournament let alone winning it, but the Faiz Fazal-led side proved their detractors wrong with every passing day in the country’s premier tournament. Vidarbha defeated the likes of Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka to make it qualify for their maiden Ranji Trophy final where they took on seven-time winners and widely touted favourites Delhi.

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However, the maiden finalists once again proved everyone wrong, thrashing their illustrious opponents by nine wickets to seal a historic title which Fazal termed as his “biggest achievement” of his career.

“Winning the Ranji Trophy would be the biggest achievement of my career. I know playing for India was a big high for me because as an individual, you get to achieve that. I have always been a team-man. Winning the trophy for the team has been a big thing. I have been leading Vidarbha since my age-group cricket days. And to lead a Ranji team is not an easy thing,” Fazal said.

“The win is no less than a fairytale. This feeling can’t be described. As a cricketer, we have always dreamed of winning Ranji Trophy. It is the biggest thing in our career. It happened today, and I am happy. For now, we are on seventh heaven. But again, we have to be down to earth and start our work tomorrow,” he added.

Fazal further said Vidarbha’s first match of the season, which they won against Punjab by an innings and 117 runs, “set the tone” for their victorious campaign.

“From day one, I thought we can win it. I was in England before the season, and when I came to Nagpur and met Chandu Sir, the first thing I wanted to know was how to win the trophy. Then the process started. The first game against Punjab was the turning point. I wanted the whole team to participate in the Irani Cup.”

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The 32-year old also opened up on the contribution of head coach Chandrakant Pandit and veteran Wasim Jaffer, saying:

“I let the side be free. This win has not been easy. Behind this, Chandu sir comes in, Jaffer bhai, Karn (Sharma), Ganesh (Satish) played huge role. Otherwise it would have not been possible.”

Vidarbha outplayed Delhi in most departments of the game to secure the win. After deciding to field first, Vidarbha bowled out Delhi for just 295 with Rajneesh Gurbani once again starring with the ball, picking up six wickets including a hat-trick.

In reply, Vidarbha posted a mammoth 547 all out with Akshay Wadkar leading the charge with his maiden century in first-class cricket. On the fourth day of the game which eventually turned out to be the last, Vidarbha lost their last three wickets for just 19 runs after starting the day on 528 for seven.

In their second innings, Delhi were all out for 280, thus setting Vidarbha a paltry 29-run target which the maiden finalists chased down easily.

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