Follow Us
Mumbai has defeated Uttarakhand by a mammoth margin of 725 runs in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 quarterfinal. It is a world record, as Twitter lost its cool over it.
Indian domestic giants Mumbai on Thursday shattered the world record for the highest margin of victory in First-Class (FC) cricket. It pulverised minnows Uttarakhand by a vast 725 runs on Day 4 of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal clash at the KSCA Cricket (2) Ground in Alur and stormed into the semis. Mumbai broke New South Wales' 92-year-old record in the Sheffield Shield when it had beaten Queensland by 685 runs. In the Ranji Trophy, the record for the highest margin for victory happened to be with Bengal, which had conquered Odisha by 540 runs in 1953-54. Mumbai's world record comes a day after Bengal busted a 129-year-old history, with all its nine batters scoring a half-century in a single innings vs Jharkhand in its quarterfinal tie.
Mumbai will be meeting Uttar Pradesh in the semi-final of the prestigious domestic tournament. The 41-time Ranji Trophy champion, which had dominated right from the opening day, declared its second innings at 261/3, thus setting Uttarakhand an unimaginable target of 794. It had declared at 647/8 in its first innings, riding on the maiden double century from debutant Suved Parkar (252).
ALSO READ: IND vs SA T20Is - KL Rahul "gutted" after groin injury ruled him out of series
Uttarakhand, bundled out for 114 in its first essay, capitulated in front of the Mumbai bowlers, as it was again bowled out for just 69 in the second innings. Mumbai bowlers, led by the professional pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, run riot. Kulkarni, along with in-form spinner Shams Mulani and off-spinner Tanush Kotian, grabbed three wickets apiece, while none of the Uttarakhand batters showed any spine.
Kulkarni wreaked mayhem as he dismissed opener Kamal Singh (0) and then trapped skipper Jay Bista (0) leg-before, with the rival reeling at 1/2. He knocked over Robin Bist (3) with a crooked delivery as Uttarakhand stared at a massive defeat. In-form Mulani, who had grabbed a fifer in the opening innings, got into the act and ran through the middle-order. His victims were Kunal Chandela (21), Dikshanshu Negi (5) and Mayank Mishra (0).
ALSO READ: India vs South Africa 2022 - Young Men in Blue hungry for success against Proteas
Wickets kept tumbling for Uttarakhand, even as Kotian dismissed three lower-order batters quickly and grabbed the final wicket of Agrim Tiwari to seal the historic win for Mumbai. For Uttarakhand, only wicketkeeper-batter Shivam Khurana (25*) and Chandela could reach the double figures. Mumbai's medium-pacer Mohit Awasthi (1/5) also played his part. Parkar was adjudged the Man of the Match.
(With inputs from PTI)
