Ranji Final: Vidarbha fight back but Mumbai set for win

A dogged fightback from Vidarbha, led by Karun Nair (74) and skipper Akshay Wadkar (56 not out), prolonged Mumbai's wait for a 42nd Ranji Trophy title as the visitors reached 248/5 in pursuit of a mammoth 538 on the fourth and penultimate day of the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.

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Set an improbable target to win the final after being outplayed since the first day, Vidarbha put up a resolute show with the bat to frustrate their hosts by resorting to stonewalling for the majority of the day.

Nair, who joined the Vidarbha ranks only at the start of this season, was at the forefront of their resistance as he faced as many as 220 balls while batting for 287 minutes to keep Mumbai at bay.

But the right-handed batter ultimately fell to the brilliance of Musheer Khan late in the day, with the 19-year-old producing a superb bowling show after setting up the game with 136 in the second innings.

Vidarbha skipper Wadkar was unbeaten on 56 at stumps on the penultimate day with Harsh Dubey (11 not out) at the other end. They need another 290 runs for victory on the final day, with five wickets in hand.

Mumbai managed a couple of wickets each in the first two sessions before they bagged the vital scalp of Nair in the post-tea session. They took the second new ball in the 82nd over of the innings.

Up until then, Mumbai had tried almost everything on what remained a placid pitch at the Wankhede Stadium. It had more on offer for the home team's spinners who remained persistent throughout.

Mumbai's troika of right-arm pacers took turns to come around the wickets to try and bounce out Vidarbha, while spinners operated from both ends to challenge the batters' techniques.

The leader of the spin pack for Mumbai was Musheer, who bowled a superb spell for figures of 2/24 in 17 overs. He bowled a challenging line from both the sides of the pitch to keep troubling the Vidarbha batters.

Musheer's dismissal of Nair, who was earlier dropped on four by Hardik Tamore off Kotian, was the one which stood out. He got the ball to turn away sharply to get the edge and this time Tamore made no mistake with the gloves.

Tanush Kotian also played his part taking 2/55 from his 19 overs, having accounted for Dhruv Shorey (28) and Yash Rathod (7) after Vidarbha made their intentions clear earlier in the day.

At no stage did the Vidarbha batters show intention to aim for the humongous target on Wednesday, but were discipline enough to ensure they had long hauls in the middle, barring Atharva Taide (32).

Taide walked across the wickets to attempt a sweep off Shams Mulani (1/56) in the 19th over and was trapped leg-before, post which Mumbai struck again soon to send Shorey back in the shed.

Aman Mokhade (32) got a lifeline when a sweep shot went straight to Kotian at fine leg, who spilled the catch with the batter on 15. Mokhade, however, could not make the most of the lifeline as he fell leg before wicket.

Wadkar appeared busier than his other teammates cracking six fours to make 56 not out from 91 balls, with his innings also including an upper-cut for the maximum with which he raised his fifty.

The Vidarbha skipper also did well with Nair to add 90 runs for the fifth wicket, for which they consumed 173 balls.