Mumbai off to their 48th finals in Ranji Trophy

Shardul Thakur's exceptional performance in Mumbai has advanced to the 48th Ranji Trophy Final, setting a new record. The team, who have been extremely consistent in every domestic tournament in its 91-year history, have once again proven itself they be the best after defeating Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy 2024 quarterfinal.

Mumbai is set to host the Ranji Trophy championship match after Ajinkya Rahane's team crushed Tamil Nadu on Monday at the Bandra Kurla Complex by an innings and 70 runs. The final match between Mumbai and either Vidarbha or Madhya Pradesh kicks off on March 10 at the legendary Wankhede Stadium. 

With just 37 points from seven games, the Rahane-led team was able to earn the best point total in the Elite division at the end of the group round. Mumbai has already won the Ranji Trophy 41 times. In the quarter-finals, they played against Baroda in the quarterfinal at BKC and qualified for the semis based on first-innings lead. No other team has managed to qualify for the finals like Mumbai has.

Shardul Thakur's century saves Mumbai

The semi-final match against Tamil Nadu was one of the best matches ever played. The pitch wasn't great, however, the Mumbai batters gave their best to take a lead of 232 runs which helped them win the match. This was all possible because of Shardul Thakur's 109, Musheer Khan's 55 and Tanush Kotian's 89 runs in the first innings. Before that, Mumbai were 106/7 at one stage when Thakur walked into bat. He, along with Tanush Kotian made sure that the team was safe before they departed. 

With a 105-run stand, both of them took the team to 290 runs. They also helped Mumbai gain a 144-run lead. After Shardul's departure, Tushar Deshpande played an amazing knock of 26 runs off 60 balls while giving support to Kotian from the other end. Later, in the second innings, Sai Kishore's 6 wickets helped Mumbai win the match by an inning and 60 runs.