Ranji Trophy 2016-17 final Preview: Gujarat eye on their first ever title against 41-time champs Mumbai

Gujarat is one of the 9 teams in existence that has played the Ranji Trophy from the first season and is also the only team to have never won a Ranji title. Gujarat, who are making their 2nd ever final in the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 will be up against defending champions Mumbai, the 41-time winners, who will be looking to add one more to their kitty.

Both the sides have faced each other on 61 occasions in Ranji Trophy so far but not once in a knockout game. Gujarat would be hoping to improve their record against Mumbai in the big game having managed a first innings lead in a draw against the defending champions earlier in this season.

Gujarat have the likes of Priyank Panchal and Samit Gohel opening who have scored over 800 runs in the season, especially Panchal, who is leading the run-scorers with 1270 runs. They will hope that their captain Parthiv Patel’s experience will play a key role in achieving their first ever Ranji title after having missed out on making it to the knockouts in 3 consecutive seasons before this.

They will certainly feel the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai too will be missing their international stars and are set for their 2nd straight final without a Test player in their XI. Despite facing injury concerns and form troubles to the crucial players, Mumbai made it to the final with their experienced campaigners, Abhishek Nayar and captain Aditya Tare’s useful contributions in the semi-finals. Young Prithvi Shaw and Akhil Herwadkar’s return to the side will boost the team’s spirits.

Also read- Stats: Youngest players to score a 4th innings ton in first-class cricket

While Mumbai and Gujarat will be playing their first ever Ranji Trophy knockout against each other, Indore will be hosting its first ever Ranji final in 62 years. Yeshwant Club Ground hosted 1954-55 season final while the Holkar stadium will host the final this time.

Team records in Ranji Trophy:

Out of the 61 matches against Gujarat, Mumbai won 38 and took first innings lead on 19 occasions in the games which ended in a draw. Gujarat on other hand have just 4 wins to cheer about against Mumbai of which 2 were outright wins.

In their previous meeting, Gujarat took first innings lead in a drawn game at Hubballi in a Group A encounter this season. Panchal’s 232 took Gujarat to 437 while in reply Mumbai were bowled out for 422, short of 15 runs despite Iyer’s 194.

Mumbai vs Gujarat in Ranji Trophy:

This will be Gujarat’s 2nd Ranji final with the first one being the 1950-51 season finale, where they lost by 189 runs to Holkar at Indore. Mumbai, on the other hand, will be playing in their 46th Ranji final having won the title on 41 occasions.

Mumbai’s record in Ranji Trophy finals:

Playing XI:

Praful Waghela could end up giving up his spot to Akhil Herwadkar despite getting starts in both innings in the semis. Mumbai might prefer the 2 pacers and 2 spinners combination unless they find the track pace friendly and bring in Tushar for Girap.

Mumbai Probable XI:

Aditya Tare (C & W), Akhil Herwadkar / Praful Waghela, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Nayar, Siddhesh Lad, Shardul Thakur, Vijay Gohil, Tushar Deshpande/Akshay Girap, Balwinder Sandhu.

Mehul Patel would be replacing Jasprit Bumrah while Rush Kalaria, who didn’t bat and bowl in the 2nd half of the semis is expected to be fit for the final. In case if he doesn’t recover, Chintan Gaja would retain his place in the XI.

Gujarat Probable XI:

Parthiv Patel (C & W), Priyank Panchal, Samit Gohel, Rujul Bhatt, Manprit Juneja, Bharghav Merai, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria/Chintan Gaja, Mehul Patel, RP Singh, Hardik Patel.

StatAttack:

-> Before this season, Parthiv Patel (895 in 2012/13) was the only player in Gujarat’s history to score 800+ runs in a Ranji Trophy season. Panchal with 1270 runs and Gohel with 849 runs have broken down the barrier this time.

-> Priyank Panchal need 146 more runs to break VVS Laxman’s most runs in a Ranji Trophy season (1415) record which he set in 1999/2000 season.

-> Aditya Tare need 2 more dismissals to break the record of most dismissals as keeper in a Ranji season set by himself in the previous season with 48 victims. He will need 3 more catches to break the record of most catches as keeper in a Ranji season which is jointly held by Tare and KS Bharat with 45 catches.

-> If Mumbai win this game outright, this will be their 250th win in first-class cricket.