Ranji Trophy Final - Sachin Tendulkar unhappy with Mumbai's 'ordinary cricket' as captain Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer fail to perform

Mumbai's middle-order batters managed to get hardly any scores until Shardul Thakur played a notable innings of 75.

Sachin Tendulkar watching Mumbai vs Vidarbha

The Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Final, being played between Mumbai and Vidarbha at the iconic Wankhede Stadium witnessed the host city's display of 'ordinary cricket', despite boasting a star-studded squad featuring national team players like Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, and Prithvi Shaw. However, their all-out performance for just 224 runs left even legend Sachin Tendulkar unhappy.

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After Vidarbha won the toss and chose to bowl, Mumbai started strong with a partnership between Prithvi Shaw and Bhupen Lalwani. However, subsequent wickets fell quickly, with none of the middle-order batters - Musheer Khan (6), captain Ajinkya Rahane (7), Shreyas Iyer (7), Hardik Tamore (5), and Shams Mulani (13) - managing substantial scores until Shardul Thakur played a notable innings of 75.

Seeing this performance, Tendulkar, known for often appreciating young players for their special achievements, criticized some players for their average performance in the ongoing Ranji Trophy final.

Taking to his social media, he wrote, "After a good start, the @MumbaiCricAssoc batters played some ordinary cricket. On the other hand, Vidarbha kept things simple and put Mumbai under pressure. I am sure there will be many exciting sessions in this game as the match unfolds. The wicket has grass cover, but the ball will turn and assist spinners as the game progresses. Vidarbha will be happy with the way they got back in the game after a solid partnership by the Mumbai openers. The first session belonged to Vidarbha."

As for the match, at the time of writing this article, Day 1 concluded with Vidarbha's batting facing challenges as well. The side lost three wickets for 31 runs in 13 overs and are trailing by 193 runs. Their opener Dhruv Shorey along with Karun Nair departed for ducks, while Aman Mokhade was dismissed for 8 runs. Atharva Taide (21) and Aditya Thakare are at the crease. Dhawal Kulkarni took two wickets, while Shardul Thakur claimed one.

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Earlier, while restricting Mumbai, Vidarbha's Yash Thakur and Harsh Dubey claimed three wickets each, while Umesh Yadav took two and Aditya Thakare one.

While Vidarbha aims to secure its third Ranji Trophy title, Mumbai has the opportunity to win a record 42nd title.

Squads:

Mumbai playing XI: Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Dhawal Kulkarni

Vidarbha playing XI: Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Aman Mokhade, Karun Nair, Yash Rathod, Akshay Wadkar (c & wk), Aditya Sarwate, Umesh Yadav, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Aditya Thakare.

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