Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success: The Mumbai skipper credited his coach Omkar Salvi for focusing on players’ fitness and independence.
Mumbai ended an eight-year wait to lift their 42nd Ranji Trophy title in front of the home crowd at Wankhede. Against a stubborn Vidarbha side who refused to give up, Mumbai eventually won the final by 538 runs. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane credited head coach Omkar Salveer’s approach for the win.
“And you know, when somebody is not doing well, you have to support that person. It’s a team game. Some players will do well in the team, some players won’t. But it’s about supporting all the players. It’s time. Come on,” He has worked hard now. Today I am really proud of him, really happy for him. His hard work has paid off.”
Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
Rahane said the title win, and several Mumbai players representing India, is good for the team.
“This win means a lot. 42nd title, waiting for seven-eight years. But this 42nd title means a lot. And as you Remember that having ten players representing Indian cricket is a big deal.”
He also highlighted the importance of player development in domestic cricket.
“I want to mention one thing about BCCI giving importance to domestic cricket which is a very good thing, asking players to play domestic cricket. Which is very important,” Rahane said.
“From here, for Mumbai cricket, it’s important to grow, to keep thinking about how we can be better in all formats,” he said. “Winning the championship after eight years, we did it, but again, we want to repeat it in the coming years. Our focus will be on that.” Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Mumbai on day five of the final as Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar and rookie Harsh Dubey played a wicket-less morning session, grumbling about a potential upset of epic proportions. It was not to be, but Rahane was the first to tip his hat to Vidarbha’s resilience. Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
“The way they played cricket, the way they fought in this match. When you lose a 120-run lead in the first innings and you’re chasing 538, it’s easy to give up. But the game teaches you that if you don’t. Give up. Get up, get up, Get up, get up and be yourself. Have faith…, everything is possible,” Rahane said.
“Chasing 538, the character they showed in the second innings was a great learning experience for all of us. The grit and tenacity with which they batted was very good.
“The last 7-8 years they have been doing really well. They have won a couple of championships and they have won the Irani trophy once or twice. They are playing really good cricket.” Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
At stumps on the fourth day, Karun Nair said that Vidarbha, 290 runs away with five wickets in hand, faced a “tough task” but were a team that would not give up. Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
Wadkar and Dube exemplified their defiant partnership that saw Vidarbha close to their target of 85 runs at lunch on the final day without further loss in the wicket column. Wadkar scored his second century in a Ranji Trophy final, while Dube scored his second first-class fifty. Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
“When we had a fight, when we were talking in our team meetings, when we were talking about our partnership, we never 1% thought we were out of the match,” Wadkar said.
“We were just thinking that all the batters together, we will win the match. Because it was the final and the last innings, there was no chance to give up or think negative. You have to go for the win, so we believed. We would have won.”
Wadkar said the Mumbai team had been discussing their strategy since day four, when he put on a 90-run stand with Nair and opened his 130-run stand with Dube, but neither Rahane nor his team were distracted. Which means he knew Vidarbha still had a long way to go.
“The [Mumbai] talks were going on since yesterday. When I was batting with Karun, when I was batting with Harsha. So they discussed field changes and bowling changes,” Wadkar said. “I was just watching their captain Rahane, what was his expression? Was he talking to the bowlers a bit harshly? Because then we knew we were in the game. Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
“But his attitude seemed to be that he was cool and calm. He didn’t let it show that he was frustrated or that we were getting close to the game. Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
Of course we have a long way to go, but from the attitude of the opponents you get vibes about what they are thinking. But the attitude from [them] was disappointing. reading].”
With Mumbai already receiving Rs 5 crore from the BCCI for winning the Ranji Trophy, the Mumbai Cricket Association decided to double the prize money with their own Rs 5 crore prize. Rahane toasts Mumbai’s ‘great team culture’ for Ranji success
MCA said in a statement.
Mumbai coach Salvi praised the board for the move, saying it would provide more security to the players.