Mumbai entered the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season as defending champions, having won the title for the 41st time. Aditya Tare's team dominated Group A with 30 points, becoming the first team to qualify for the final eight, and knocked out Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu to meet Gujarat in the summit. This is Mumbai's 46th final in 83 years of the Ranji Trophy. Here's take a recap of how Mumbai's season panned out.
1st match, v Tamil Nadu in Rohtak - Won by 2 wickets
Mumbai's season started off with a narrow win over Tamil Nadu. Victory, at the end of the match, owed significantly to TN being bowled out for 87 on day one, with Dhawal Kulkarni (4/31) and debutant Tushar Deshpande (4/25) doing the damage. Mumbai eked out a lead of 89, after which six wickets to Kulkarni set them a target of 97. It took some chasing, with Abhishek Nayar's unbeaten 45 off 56 balls the difference.
2nd match, v Baroda in Delhi - Draw
Mumbai took three points from Baroda on the basis of a small first-innings lead, which owed much to the Man of the Match, opener Akhil Herwadkar, who scored 106 out of a total of 323. Baroda piled up 383/5 and set Mumbai an unattainable 366 for victory. Tare batted out a draw with 63 not out from 162 balls.
3rd match, v Madhya Pradesh in Raipur - Draw
The bowlers struggled on a flat surface, conceding 445 in 160 overs. But centuries to Herwadkar (153), Siddhesh Lad (100*) and Nayar (103*) helped Mumbai made 568/7 declared, and with it gain three more points. The team had been 368/7 before Nayar and Lad hit unbeaten centuries.
4th match, v Railways in Mysore - Won by 10 wickets
Mumbai's second win was fashioned by their bowlers after Herwadkar (96) and Suryakumar Yadav (110) contributed heavily to a first-innings total of 345. Leading the way was rookie left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil with 5/64 as Railways were bowled out for 160. Forced to follow-on, Railways did slightly better with 208 - this time Deshpande claimed 5/35 - which left Mumbai a target of 24.
5th match, v Uttar Pradesh in Mysore - Won by 121 runs
Once again the bowlers combined wonderfully to set up victory, after Mumbai were dismissed for 233 out of which 99 came from Yadav. With Kulkarni still out through injury, Deshpande led an admirable performance with three wickets and Nayar, Vishal Dhabolkar and Aditya Dhumal took two each as Baroda were kept to 225. With three points in the bag, Mumbai made 286 when they batted again - Yadav again missed a century, out for 90 - which left Uttar Pradesh a target of 295. Dhumal's 5/53 and Dabholkar's 4/43 ensured a big win. Yadav was Man of the Match for his twin nineties.
6th match, v Gujarat in Hubballi - Draw
Another dull surface, another match full of runs. This time, however, Mumbai failed to win three points. A double-century to Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal formed more than half of a total of 437, after which Mumbai fell short of taking the lead. The openers failed and Shreyas Iyer's 194 was not enough, as Mumbai were bowled out for 422. Gujarat were 82/0 when a facile draw came to an end.
7th match, v Bengal in Nagpur - Draw
Bengal pushed Mumbai after being shot out for 99 on day one, with Shardul Thakur the star with 6/31 and Kulkarni marking his comeback with 3/22. Mumbai managed 229, a lead of 130, but centuries to Sudip Chatterjee and Manoj Tiwary saw Bengal post 437 in their second innings. Needing to bat out time, Mumbai slumped to 22/3 and then 67/5 but were put back on course for a draw thanks to Nayar (51) and youngster Shubham Ranjane, who in his second first-class match was unbeaten on 76 off 193 balls.
8th match, v Punjab in Rajkot - Draw
Tare's team ended the league stage on top of Group A after another draw, but having conceded three points. Punjab racked up 468 and then did excellently to keep Mumbai to 185, but a century to Iyer - promoted to open - ensured a draw. With 30 points, Mumbai had a four-point lead over Gujarat.
QF v Hyderabad in Raipur - Won by 30 runs
Mumbai pipped Hyderabad in the quarter-finals, with Nayar's all-round performance the standout factor. He scored 59 down the order after Lad's 110 and 73 from Tare out of a first-innings total of 294, then claimed 4/60 to help keep Hyderabad to 280. Mumbai fared poorer in their second innings, bowled out for 217 with Mohammed Siraj taking five wickets. Defending a target of 232, the domestic powerhouse were indebted to Nayar (5/40) and Gohil (5/64) and a semi-final spot was sealed.
SF v Tamil Nadu in Rajkot - Won by 6 wickets
Four wickets each to Thakur and Nayar helped limit TN to 305, after which fifties to Tare (83) and Nayar (58) helped get Mumbai into the lead, before the lower order got the score to 411. Abhinav Mukund and Baba Indrajith scored centuries before the former declared on 356/6, which left Mumbai to chase 251. Up stepped the debutant teenager Prithvi Shaw with a century, emulating the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Amol Muzumdar, Ajinkya Rahane, Jatin Paranjpe and Sameer Dighe, among others, as Mumbai batsmen to score centuries on first-class debut. Shaw's 120 off 175 balls took Mumbai to victory by six wickets, and Tare's team was in the final for the second season running.