Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy for a record 35th time, when they defeated Tamil Nadu by 141 runs in the final on Thursday, the fifth and last day of the match, at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
Buoyed by a superb bowling performance by leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule, who claimed five wickets for 70 runs, Mumbai ran out deserving winners.
Resuming at the overnight score 102 for three, Tamil Nadu were in trouble as they lost the wickets of overnight batsman S Badrinath and S Sharath early in the morning session.
Badrinath added just eight runs to his overnight score of 12 before being caught by Vinayak Mane at short leg off spinner Ramesh Powar.
New batsman S Sharath, too, did not last long and was given out leg before wicket to Bahutule for nine, before Hemang Badani and Badrinath added 59 runs for the fourth wicket in 22.2 overs.
Badani, who scored a brilliant 109 in trying circumstances, was the sole Tamil Nadu batsman to look comfortable, even as the others struggled to come to terms with the spin and bounce extracted by Bahutule. He never lunged, always stroked and certainly looks ready to regain his place in the Indian eleven.
Not long ago, the left-hander was said to be a certainty in the Indian team but that position was usurped by Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. This knock will certainly make the selectors sit up and take notice of his potential again.
At lunch, Tamil Nadu were 190 for the loss of five wickets, still in with a chance of saving the game and winning the Ranji Trophy, because of the 11-run first innings lead they had taken. But that proved to be a far-fetched dream as Bahutule claimed four wickets thereafter, including that of Badani, to help the hosts emerge triumphant.
Bahutule was in prime form and it showed in his variations. He out-thought the batsmen, drew them out and then deceived them with the flipper or googly.
Save Badani, who hit 10 boundaries in his knock, none of the other batsmen were able to read him convincingly, for which they paid the price.
The Mumbai leg-spinner claimed eight wickets in the match and made useful contributions with the bat as well. It will be interesting to see if the selectors decide to give him a chance ahead of Amit Mishra when the Kiwis come visiting in October.
Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer was most probably be the only other player to make an impression. Classic half-centuries in both the innings would have done no harm to his chances for a recall.
In hindsight, it was proved once again that to win a match, you need to play good cricket for all five days. Mumbai did that and emerged worthy winners.