Mumbai beats Vidarbha to clinch their 42nd Ranji Trophy title

The Mumbai cricket team, led by Ajinkiya Rahane, defeated Vidarbha in the final of the Ranji Trophy to win their 42nd title. On the fifth day of the five-day final, the Mumbai team defeated the Vidarbha team by 169 runs. The final was played at the  Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Mumbai team last won the Ranji Trophy in 2015-2016. Incidentally, Mumbai (then Bombay) also won the inaugural Ranji Trophy in 1934-35.

2023-24 Ranji Trophy final 

Akshay Wadekar, captain of the Vidarbha team, won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, the Mumbai team scored 224 in the first innings. In reply, the Vidarbha team was out for  105 runs.

In the second innings, the Mumbai team scored 418 with a brilliant 136 by  Musheer Khan.

Chasing a victory target of 538 runs, the Vidarbha team was all out for 368 runs on the fifth and the final day of the play, losing the match by 169 runs.

Musheer Khan of Mumbai was the Player of the Match, while Tanush Kotia of Mumbai was the Player of the Series.

The Mumbai team collected the trophy and a Rs 5 crore winning prize, while the Vidarbha team received Rs 3 crore prize money.

Ranji Trophy 

The Ranji Trophy is India's premier domestic first-class cricket championship, named after  K. S. Ranjit Singhji. K.S. Ranjit Singhji,  the Nawab of Jamnagar, was the first Indian to play test cricket. He played cricket for England and Sussex County of England.  

The BCCI (Board for Control of Cricket in India ) started the Ranji Trophy in his honour in  1934-35.  The inaugural trophy was won by  Bombay (now Mumbai), defeating Northern India in the final.

Since the 2002-03 season, the Ranji Trophy has been a round-robin tournament. The qualifier of the round-robin plays in the knockout stage.

The duration of the round-robin matches is 4 days, while the knock-out matches (semi-final and final) are 5 days.

As of the 2023-24 season, 32 teams were divided into four Elite Groups. The winner of each group played in the semi-final and the winner of the semi-finals played in the final.  

Winner of the Ranji Trophy 

Mumbai is the most successful team in the history of the Ranji Trophy, having won it 42 times. 

Karnataka has won the title 8 times, followed by Delhi (7 times) and Baroda 6 times.

Saurashtra was the Ranji champion in 2022-23.