Madhya Pradesh won its maiden Ranji Trophy title after defeating the 41-time champions Mumbai by 5 wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Twenty-three years after falling short of winning their first Ranji Trophy title ever, Madhya Pradesh finally managed to script history on Sunday when they beat Mumbai. Chasing the modest target of 108, Madhya Pradesh reached the total with six wickets in the hut. Rajat Patidar remained unbeaten on 30. Earlier today, Kumar Kartikeya’ (4/98) helped Madhya Pradesh to restrict Mumbai to 269 runs.
It was a complete team performance by MP nurtured by their coach Chandrakant Pandit that led to their maiden Ranji Trophy Victory. But, there were some the stand-out performers from the team who played an important role for the team during crunch situations.
Here’s a look at the top performers from MP during this Ranji Trophy Season.
1. Rajat Patidar – 658 Runs
Rajat Patidar’s memorable century to helped MP set up a match-winning first-innings lead in the Ranji final. Patidar crossed fifty in every innings barring one, in the semi-final. With five half-centuries and two hundred, Patidar was second in the season’s run charts behind Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan. Rajat Patidar scored 685 runs during Ranji Trophy’s 2021-2022 season and averaged 82.25.
2. Kumar Kartikeya – 32 Wickets
In his very first game this season, Kartikeya left a mark against Gujarat by picking up a match-winning five-for while defending 194. He picked up six wickets to knock Punjab out of the quarter-final. He continued his stellar bowling and picked up a five-for against Bengal to lead MP into only their second Ranji final.
3. Yash Dubey – 614 Runs
Yash Dubey hadn’t opened until midway through the 2021-22 season. A fighting knock of 85 against Meghalaya at No. 7 happened to be the springboard for his elevation as the team’s opener. Dubey made a career-best 289 against Kerala in a must-win game. But the best was perhaps reserved for the last, his first-innings century in the final helping MP squeeze Mumbai. He was one of five batters to have made over 600 runs this season.
4. Gaurav Yadav – 23 Wickets
If batters win you games, bowlers win you championships. With Avesh away on India duty, Gaurav Yadav was given a long run this season, and he was impressed with his swing and seam even on the most docile pitches. Yadav finished as MP’s leading wicket-taker among seamers and the fourth-best overall.
5. Shubham Sharma – 608 runs
He finished with 608 runs at an average of 76. This includes four hundreds, thereby confirming his appetite for big runs. He started the season with a 92 against Gujarat and ended it with a hundred when it mattered the most. Shubham Sharma scored 608 runs during this Ranji Season.
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