Ajinkya Rahane and Ravi Ashwin. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The summit clash of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 season saw Mumbai take on Vidarbha, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday, March 10. The clash began with Mumbai coming into bat first, and the side got off to a subpar start as the batters failed to go big.
The entire top and middle-order failed to go big, with Shardul Thakur scoring 75 coming in at No. 8 to stabilise the innings and helping Mumbai post 224 in the first innings. One of the biggest highlights of the first innings was the disappointing performance of the skipper, Ajinkya Rahane. The veteran has been unable to find his form as of late and failed to go big in the first innings as well.
Star Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin witnessed Mumbai’s performance in the Ranji Trophy final from his home and even shared a story on his Instagram handle where Rahane’s technical flaws with the bat were being pointed out. The picture of the same has been making the rounds all over social media.
Check out Ashwin’s Rahane’s batting analysis post here:
Ravichandran Ashwin observes a technical error in Ajinkya Rahane’s batting while watching the Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Vidarbha🏏
📸: Ravi Ashwin pic.twitter.com/jVLss62jze
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) March 11, 2024
Mumbai stabilise innings following exceptional bowling
Speaking of the clash, Mumbai found themselves in a spot of bother after having just scored 224 in the first innings. However, as Vidarbha came out to bat, Mumbai put in an exceptional spectacle with the ball. Their opponents opened the innings with Atharva Taide scoring 23, Dhruv Shorey being sent packing for a duck, and Aman Mokhade adding just eight runs on the board.
Aditya Thakare scored 19 runs in 69 deliveries, whereas in-form Yash Rathod could only manage 27 in the 67 balls he faced. After a sensational bowling performance, Mumbai managed to bundle out Vidarbha for a total of 105 in the first innings.
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Dhawal Kulkarni, Shams Mulani, and Tanush Kotian took three wickets each while Shardul Thakur struck once. Aiming to maximise their lead, Mumbai ended Day 2 of the clash on a score of 141 with the loss of two wickets with Musheer Khan and Ajinkya Rahane occupying the crease, with both steadying the ship for Mumbai by notching up their half-centuries just before the close of the day’s play.