Madhya Pradesh road to Ranji Trophy 2022 final amidst breakthrough season

Madhya Pradesh pipped Bengal by 174 runs and booked their first Ranji Trophy final since the 1999 edition of the tournament. Based on the collective efforts of every member of the Aditya Shrivastava-led squadron, they sprung surprise after surprise in every game to reach the finale of India's most prestigious first-class event.

Despite a high-flying campaign this year, Madhya Pradesh's biggest challenge beckons as they will face Ranji giants Mumbai in the final showdown at Bengaluru.

Ahead of the Ranji Trophy 2022 final, we look at how their crusade has unfolded this season.

Madhya Pradesh's table-topping group stage run

Placed in Group A, Shrivastava's MP defeated Gujarat by 106 runs in their season's opening match. In the very next game, they delivered an innings blow to Meghalaya. MP's final match against Kerala turned out to be a high-scoring draw, although they enjoyed crucial points out of the contest on first innings merit.

Batsman Shubham Sharma plundered 317 runs across the group stage. Additionally, opener Yash Dubey hammered a 289 against Kerala. Rajat Patidar also made valuable contributions in the middle order throughout the group campaign, which saw them finish at the top of the points table.

Thumping Punjab by ten wickets

Kumar Kartikeya's six-fer and Sharma's first-innings ton turned out to be MP's headline act in their quarter-final bout against Punjab. On Day 1, bowlers Puneet Datey and Anubhav Agarwal combined forces to bowl Punjab out for just 219. Sharma's century empowered Shrivastava's team to a handy 178-run lead.

Bowlers backed their Day 1 efforts to bundle Punjab for just 203, with Kartikeya claiming six wickets for just 50. Needing just 26 to win, the MP openers chased down the target without breaking a sweat on Day 4.

Ending Bengal's run in semis by 174 runs

Wicketkeeper-batsman Himanshu Mantri stockpiled 165, thus powering his side to 341. Karthikeya, Datey and Jain took three-fers each as Bengal finished at 273. The MP batters returned to set a 350-run target, only for the bowlers to bowl out their opponents for just 175.

The impending final against Mumbai

In a match between the underdogs and heavyweights, the Ranji Trophy 2022 final marks a fitting and a poetic end to the tournament. The last bout will be played across five days at Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium between June 22 and 26.