'Moment of a Lifetime' - Madhya Pradesh captain and head coach react to Ranji Trophy win

Madhya Pradesh captain Aditya Shrivastava and head coach Chandrakant Pandit were jubilant following their team's first-ever Ranji Trophy title.

Image credit: PTI

Madhya Pradesh won the Ranji Trophy for the first time in the team's 72-year history, as it defeated a strong Mumbai side by six wickets in the final. Following the team's victory, captain Aditya Shrivastava and head coach Chandrakant Pandit were triumphant and emotional. Shrivastava, who was captaining his first Ranji Trophy season, was "ecstatic" following the team's trophy win. The skipper also praised coach Pandit.

Following MP's win, Shrivastava said, "Completely ecstatic. Generation time has gone by since MP won the Ranji Trophy for the first time. It is the moment of a lifetime for me. The emotions are deep, we are trying to laugh it out, but we are extremely emotional from the inside."

"It has been my first year as captain, and whatever I know about leading a side is from Chandrakant sir. I want to continue this. The stage will get to our minds, but we must stick to the process. That is what has got us here and will keep us here. That is the mantra we were speaking about in the meetings, too," added Shrivastava.

The Ranji Trophy win was a storybook-style end for coach Chandrakant Pandit. The former Indian test cricketer captained Madhya Pradesh to their first-ever Ranji Trophy Final in 1999. However, the team lost heartbreakingly as, despite a first-innings lead, MP collapsed in its second innings to hand Karnataka a 96-run win. This match also took place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Chandrakant Pandit soon retired as a player and became one of the most successful domestic coaches of all time, winning three titles for Mumbai, a couple of titles for Vibharda in his Ranji Trophy coaching career and now one for MP. His career came full circle as the coach led his Madhya Pradesh side to their first title at the Chinnaswamy stadium, 23 years after the heartbreaking finals loss at the same venue.

Following MP's win, coach Chandrakant Pandit said, "It is a great memory that I had left 23 years back, and it is a blessing that I come back here, got it back on the same ground in 2022. I am a bit emotional, and winning this trophy was fabulous. Father couldn't do it, but his son did it for MP after 23 years. It is emotional because I missed out as captain on the same ground."