OTD| Gujarat won their first Ranji Trophy title by defeating Mumbai in 2017

Today is a very memorable day for the cricket fans in Gujarat as Gujarat won the first Ranji Trophy title on this day in 2017 against the most successful team in the tournament’s history, Mumbai. Parthiv Patel led his side to script history and add a glorious chapter to the long history of cricket in the state. 

First innings

Parthiv Patel won the toss for Gujarat and invited Mumbai to bat first in the all-important final. Gujarat had an early success as they dismissed the opener Akhil Herwadkar for a low score. Meanwhile, the young Prithvi Shaw was resolute in his batting display and continued to express himself. 

Almost every batter from Mumbai got a start but they could not materialize it into a big impactful knock. Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav scored half-centuries but their failure to stay on the crease for a long time backfired for Mumbai as Gujarat wrapped up their first innings with just 228 runs on the board. 

Mumbai’s bowling unit tried to course correct with a great start when Gujarat’s turn to bat came. The openers, Samit Gohel and Priyank Panchal got out early in the innings but skipper Parthiv Patel was unrelenting as he was determined to create history. Parthiv played a 90-run knock and stitched partnerships with Bhargav Merai and Manprit Juneja to provide solidity to the Gujarat middle order. With the help of a few lower-order contributions, Gujarat scored 328 runs and registered a healthy lead. 

Second Innings

The Mumbai batting order fared much better in the second innings as multiple batters made half-centuries including Shreyas Iyer, Aditya Tare, and Abhishek Nayar. This combined batting effort led Mumbai to 411 runs in the second innings giving a target of 312 to Gujarat. 

The chasing side could not start their run chase on a good note as they lost three wickets even before crossing the 100-run mark. But Parthiv Patel’s will to fight for his team shone once again as he smashed a century to guide Gujrat to a historic successful chase. Manprit Juneja also contributed with a half-century which was enough for his team to keep Mumbai away from the title. This maiden Ranji Trophy glory for Gujarat was a watershed moment for the state and continues to inspire.