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Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Parthiv, Juneja give Gujarat handy lead

Gujarat 291 for 6 (Gandhi 17*, Kalaria 16*, Nayar 3-80) lead Mumbai 228 (Shaw 71, Suryakumar Yadav 57, Gaja 2-46, RP Singh 2-48) by 63 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

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Kishore: Parthiv-Juneja stand the difference on topsy-turvy day

Shashank Kishore reviews day 2 of the Ranji final between Mumbai and Gujarat from Indore

An over-aggressive approach to batting on a seaming deck often comes with a rider. When it pays off, like it did for large parts of the day for Gujarat, it looks extremely efficient and helps batting teams drive the game forward. But the flip side is it keeps the opponents alive with the hope that the odd mistake could potentially break open the game.

On Wednesday, two such mistakes - a waft outside off from Parthiv Patel on 90 and an attempted pull from Manprit Juneja off a skiddy bouncer - resulted in Mumbai clawing back to restrict Gujarat to 291 for 6, their lead 63 at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final in Indore.

Juneja's dismissal on 77 was controversial, however, and came at a time when Gujarat were looking to rebuild after wiping out the deficit. While the shot wasn't on - he was trying to fetch the pull from outside off - Shardul Thakur had clearly overstepped. Third umpire K Srinath, who took a while to arrive at the decision after looking at a number of replays, felt Thakur's front foot was behind the crease.

Rush Kalaria and Chirag Gandhi helped Gujarat ride the after-effects of three stinging blows, including that of Rujul Bhatt. At the end, Gujarat will still be the happier side, even if just marginally ahead.

The day began on a rather quiet note for Gujarat as openers Priyank Panchal and Samit Gohel made run-scoring look difficult. Credit where due, of course, to Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu, Mumbai's new-ball pair, who kept jagging the ball both ways.

By being diffident, Gohel didn't help Gujarat's cause. The first five overs produced just two runs. The urge to get the scorecard moving drew a tentative push that had Suryakumar Yadav diving low to his left to pouch one at second slip in the 11th over. Panchal, the season's highest run-getter, was equally fidgety at the other end and was probed repeatedly outside off by Abhishek Nayar. After two near misses, he nicked a third and Mumbai were rewarded by his persistence.

Two down for not many in a big final, the pressure of having to set up the game against a side that has a history of comebacks may have forced players to tread a path of caution. Not Parthiv, who came out with a fine counter-attack, along with Bhargav Merai, and take the attack to the bowlers. On 20, Parthiv was lucky to survive a healthy edge through to Tare as Thakur, who celebrated with gusto, was soon told he had overstepped. That was the release he needed to power ahead, with the lunch break coming to Mumbai's rescue.

There was drama immediately after the break when Nayar induced an edge off an attempted cut from Merai. The fielders went up in an appeal, only for umpire Anil Chaudhary to turn it down. The decision didn't cost Mumbai much as Merai fell soon after for 45 to give Nayar his second wicket. The game was in the balance. Another wicket there may have stirred the contest further. This was precisely the moment Parthiv and Juneja seized.

By scoring briskly - the half-century stand was brought up off just 63 deliveries and the century stand off 130 - both batsmen helped Gujarat get out of a tangle. Parthiv drove Nayar imperiously on the up past mid-off, and followed that with a cover drive to ease his way in, while Juneja profited from the area behind the wicket to begin with.

All this while, Aditya Tare, the Mumbai captain, was alternating between attack and defense. His move to introduce Vishal Dabholkar, one of two front-line left-arm spinners who was brought back in specifically for this game, as late as the 54th over was baffling. The field placement - just one close-in catcher at slip - was such that it seemed they were simply filling up to give the tiring pacers a break. This played into the hands of Juneja, who capitalised on the let off by Shreyas Iyer at midwicket on 15.

For a better part of two hours, Mumbai were on the defensive, before Parthiv's dismissal with Gujarat trailing by just two runs turned the game around. From there on, the final session was back to being an engaging contest where the ball beat the outside edge more than it hit the middle. In the last half hour, the intensity of the contest may have even drained Tare, who reprieved Gandhi off Sandhu while attempting a reflex action catch diving to his right. Given how his bowlers came back, Tare would hope it wouldn't prove too costly.

Rare defeat

1990-91

Last time Mumbai lost a Ranji final, before this - to Haryana, by 2 runs. They had won 11 Ranji finals since then. Overall, it is only their 5th loss in 46 final appearances.

Maiden title

1

No. of Ranji Trophy titles for Gujarat, this is the first. They are the 17th team to become Ranji champions.

Parthiv's favourties

5

No. of centuries for Parthiv in first-class matches against Mumbai, including this. He hasn't scored more than 2 centuries against any other team.

Big target

310

Highest target successfully chased in a Ranji final, by Hyderabad v Nawanagar in 1937-38. Mumbai have set 312 in this final. However, a draw is enough for Gujarat.

Can Mumbai win?

7

No. of times a team has won a Ranji final after facing a deficit in 1st inns; Mumbai have done it twice. They lead over 250 in this final after conceding a lead of 100.

Shreyas in finals

117

Runs scored by Shreyas Iyer in last season's Ranji Trophy final, against Saurashtra. He has reached a fifty in this year's final too.

Second of the season

2

No. of times Gujarat has taken the first inns lead against Mumbai this season. They are the first side to do this against Mumbai in a Ranji season in the last ten years.

Mumbai's rare low

2

No. of lower first inns totals for Mumbai in Ranji finals, than the 228 this time. Their two lowest: 151 v TN in 1972-73 and 191 v Holkar in 1947-48.

Yadav's feat

4000+

Runs for Suryakumar Yadav in fc career, reaching there in this final. Since his debut in Dec 2010, no Mumbai player has scored more than him; Nayar 3264 comes next.

A long wait

1950-51

Last and the only time Gujarat entered finals of a Ranji Trophy season, before this. They had lost to Holkar then. However, this is Mumbai's 46th final, a record.

Ranji Trophy

Group A
TeamMWLDPTNRR
MUM8305300.027
GUJ8205260.368
TN8215260.164
PNJB8215210.109
BENG821421-0.235
MP8215200.024
UP814313-0.125
BRODA813410-0.003
RLYS815210-0.367
Group B
TeamMWLDPTNRR
JHK8503390.399
KNTKA8512370.273
ODSA821522-0.054
DELHI8224210.579
MAHA823321-0.059
VIDAR822420-0.025
SAU8242180.101
RAJ814312-0.637
ASSAM81528-0.62
Group C
TeamMWLDPTNRR
HYD941331-0.117
HRYNA9315310.218
AP9315280.119
HP9306260.662
KER9117250.206
GOA923418-0.33
SVCS912616-0.177
J + K913515-0.383
CGR914414-0.01
TPURA914314-0.196