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[Saba Sports News] Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer was visibly elated following Mumbai’s 42nd Ranji Trophy victory on March 14 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, celebrating with the energetic beats of Maharashtra’s Nashik Dhol after their win against Vidarbha by 169 runs.
Iyer’s pivotal 95-run innings in Mumbai’s second innings was a significant rebound from his first-innings score of 7, marking a crucial moment amidst recent scrutiny over his exclusion from the BCCI’s central contracts for the 2023-24 season.
This season, Iyer participated in three matches for Mumbai, amassing 153 runs at an average of 38.25, highlighted by his crucial knock in the final. This performance was especially notable against the backdrop of the BCCI’s decision to remove him and Ishan Kishan from the centrally contracted players list, citing their absences from domestic games. While Kishan was absent from the Ranji Trophy, only returning for the DY Patil T20 Cup following a directive from BCCI secretary Jay Shah, Iyer made impactful contributions in his appearances.
In the final, Vidarbha’s captain Akshay Wadkar fought valiantly, scoring 102, but despite his century and a solid partnership with Harsh Dubey, Vidarbha fell short of their 538-run target. Tanush Kotian’s pivotal play and Dhawal Kulkarni’s final first-class wicket were instrumental in sealing the win for Mumbai. Musheer Khan earned the Player of the Match for his century and bowling performance, becoming the youngest to score a century in a Ranji Trophy final at 19 years and 14 days.