The story of David and Goliath clash of Ranji Trophy final of 1991
Mumbai has always been one of the biggest teams in the Ranji Trophy to win over 40 titles to make them one of the most formidable domestic teams in the world. Mumbai has always been the powerhouse team in the domestic circuit with very few people who have come out and upset the apple cart. Haryana led by Kapil Dev was one such as the unfancied Haryana team played the game out of their skins and beat the much fancied Mumbai team to win the Ranji Trophy in an epic final which is still spoken about to this day.
Haryana start well with the bat –
Batting first Haryana team put up a mammoth 522 runs on the board with opener Deepak Sharma scoring 199 as he added 176 runs for the second wicket with a young Ajay Jadeja who scored 94 runs. Ranji Stalwart Amarjeet Kaypee scored 45 with Captain Kapil Dev scoring 15. Chetan Sharma who batted at number 9 scored 98 runs to take the Haryana team to a huge total at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. For the Mumbai team it was Abey Kuruvilla who picked 4 wickets while right arm fast bowler Salil Ankola picked 3 wickets.
Mumbai make a strong reply –
Chasing 523 in the first innings Mumbai saw opener Lalchand Rajput score 74 while number three Sanjay Patil scored 85. Captain Sanjay Manjrekar scored 37 while Kapil Dev got the wicket of his international team mate Dilip Vengsarkar for 38. Sachin Tendulkar at 18 enthralled the crowd with a brisk 47 before he fell to Chetan Sharma it was the rearguard action of Chandrakant Pandit and Salil Ankola that got Mumbai to 410 to give Haryana a lead of 112. Kapil Dev picked 3 wickets while Yogendra Bhandari picked 5 wickets.
A final day classic ensues –
Armed with a lead of 112 Haryana Batsmen did not anticipate the fight back on the cards by the Mumbai bowlers as they bowled the Haryana team for 242 with Ajay Banerjee scoring 60 and Kapil Dev scoring 41. For the Mumbai team Ankola and Sanjay Patil picked three wickets each. Chasing 355 to win Mumbai began with a shaky start as they were placed at 34 for 3, but Vengsarkar and Tendulkar who scored 96 added 134 runs for the 4th wicket. Once Tendulkar fell it was Kambli who scored 45 to add 81 runs more with Vengsarkar. Mumbai lost quick wickets to be placed at 305 for 9 but Vengsarkar and Kuruvilla added 47 before Kuruvilla was run out for 5 to leave Mumbai short by 2 as Vengsarkar made his long walk to the pavilion not out on 139 with tears in his eyes as 20,000 plus people thronged to Wankhede to witness the classic.