Sarfaraz Khan, Shams Mulani standouts in Mumbai’s Road to Ranji Trophy final

This Ranji Trophy season, Prithvi Shaw’s Mumbai has looked like a team with a mission if the assignment was to whip their opponents into submission. Such has been their dominant run this year that several of their youngsters are already knocking on selector’s doors for a national call-up.

With Shaw’s spirited leadership, Sarfaraz Khan’s run-scoring extravaganza and Shams Mulani tendering opposing batters clueless, the Ranji giants have been steamrolling every team on their quest for a record-extending 42nd title.

As Mumbai gears up to face the high-flying Madhya Pradesh unit in the summit clash, here is a look at how their Ranji Trophy 2022 campaign has fared so far this year.

Mumbai’s unbeaten Group Stage finish

Mumbai, placed at Elite Group D, pipped Odisha and Goa with heavy margins. While their match against Saurashtra was drawn, Prithvi Shaw’s battalion enjoyed crucial points out of the contest courtesy of their first innings lead.

The 24-year-old batting prodigy Sarfaraz Khan plundered 551 runs across four Group Stage innings, including a 275 against Saurashtra in their opening match of the tournament. Meanwhile, all-rounder Shams Mulani collected 29 wickets across three matches and was the star for Mumbai in the group stage.

Mumbai eventually topped the Elite Group D table with 16 points and stormed into the knockouts with an unbeaten run.

Mumbai’s one-sided quarter-final traffic against Uttarakhand

Group E table-toppers Uttarakhand went up against the 41-time Ranji Trophy winners in what turned out to be the greatest mismatch in First-Class history. Shaw’s rampaging unit butchered Uttarakhand’s campaign, serving them a 725-run hammering to mark the biggest win in terms of runs in first-class cricket.

Winning the toss, Mumbai put up 647-8d upfront, with Suved Parkar’s 252 and Khan’s 153 dishing out most of the damage. Later, they bundled out their opponents for just 114, with Shams Mulani claiming his fifth fifer of the season. Mumbai batters returned and posed an unheard target of 795, while bowlers ended Uttarakhand’s misery at just 60 in the final innings of the match.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s twin tons sink UP in semis

Opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal crashed Uttar Pradesh’s happy-go-merry campaign with twin tons, including 181 runs of the highest order in the second innings. While Mulani went wicketless in the match, for once this season, he made it up with back-to-back half-centuries.  

Having an option to enforce the follow-on, Mumbai decided to bat on and on until the two captains shook hands and signed for a draw. The first-innings advantage earned Shaw’s side another ticket to the Ranji final, as they seek to decorate their glorious trophy cabinet with another title.

The impending final against Madhya Pradesh

The Ranji Trophy 2022 final will be played at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium between June 22 and 26.