Ajit Agarkars fiery spell clinches the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai
The stage could not have been better set in the final of Ranji Trophy played at Mysore between 11th to 14th Junary 2010. Ajit Agarkar came to bowl with Karnataka needing 7 runs to win the Ranji Trophy, the country premier domestic tournament. Eventhough Mumbai needed just a wicket to lift the coveted Ranji Trophy, Ajit Agarkar, the bowler was under more pressure because Karnataka have already piled up a score which is unheard of in the fourth innings in domestic tournaments and with tail ender Aravind going for the big shots, Karnataka were only a couple of edges or a lofted shot away from victory and the fact that Rahane failed to latch on to a catch of Aravind in the previous over meant that the fielding team under more pressure than Karnataka who had the backing of home crowd.Agarkar's task was even more difficult considering the batsmen on strike Aravind had already taken 9 runs of the previous over bowled by Dhawal Kulkarni which included a confident lofted shot which sped to the boundary in a flash.
Ajit Agarkar deservedly finished of the match in style. Having seen Rahane drop a catch Ajit Agarkar took the responsibility upon himself by going for a block hole delivery which meant that either he hits the stumps or gets a return catch and that is what exactly happened with Ajit Agarkar happily accepting the return catch. While a mere 6 runs separated the winners from losers still Mumbai were the more deserving winners because they fought more harder than Karnataka in pressure situations.
To begin with Karnataka had Mumbai reeling at 3 for 20 and after a mini recovery, struck crucial blows to reduce them to 6 for 106. Karnataka should have restricted Mumbai to less than150 and batted them out of the match but Mumbai to their credit hung on and went on to make 233 which is a fighting score. In the second innings Karnataka had an opportunity to take a lead of 125 to 175 and put Mumbai under pressure but they folded meekly for 130 giving Mumbai the upper hand with a near decisive lead of 103. Karnataka gave themselves yet another chance in the match by reducing Mumbai to 51 for 5 in the second innings and that was Karnataka's best chance in the match because Mumbai led by just 154 with only tail enders to follow. However Mumbai's tail ender Dhawal Kulkarni whose top score prior to this match was just 27, prospered under Abhishek Nayars company and their partnership of 95 literally shut Karnataka out of the match. The Nayyar-Kulkarni partnership took the lead to 249 which meant Mumbai could play with more freedom knowing fully well that whatever runs they get further is only a bonus and smaller partnerships ensured that Mumbai set a near imposing target of 338 for Karnataka to win the Trophy.
Chasing a target of 338 is never easy especially in domestic tournaments. Mumbai's fast bowler Ajit Agarkar decided the fate of the match ripping through the Karnataka top order in a fiery spell of 7.5 overs conceding 15 runs reducing Karnataka to 46 for 3. What Agarkar's fiery spell of fast bowling meant was that Karnataka could never get back into the match as Mumbai needed only a couple of wickets to get into the tail even if a partnership were to flourish at that point of time and that is what exactly happened. Karnataka's batsmen Ganesh Satish- Manish Pandey built a partnership which threatened to take the match away from Mumbai, but they also played with the fear in their mind that once one of them got dismissed Bombay would be the favourites and that is what exactly happened. Though Satish who held the innings for Karnatka and Pandey who went for the kill lasted more than Mumbai expected, the advantage was neutralized because they fell in quick succession and as expected Mumbai took charge and won the Trophy.
Though Ajit Agarkars fiery spell of fast bowling early in the second innings was the decisive factor which clinched the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, credit should also go to Mumbai's wicket keeper Samat who held the innings in the first innings scoring 67 and the rescue act of Nayyar and Kulkarni in the second innings.
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