Mumbai wins the 39th Ranji Trophy in history

On this day in 2010, Mumbai won their 39th Ranji Trophy, defeating Karnataka by a margin of just six runs. One of the greatest Ranji Trophy finals ever was produced in 2009–2010. Players from Mumbai and Karnataka engaged in frequent, heated arguments during their difficult match.One of the greatest Ranji Trophy finals ever was produced in 2009–2010. Players from Mumbai and Karnataka engaged in frequent, heated arguments during their difficult match. Even though players like Ajit Agarkar, Robin Uthappa, Abhishek Nayar, and Dhawal Kulkarni received fines for their on-field conduct, the caliber of cricket played in Mysore remained unaffected. And on this exact day, January 14, 2010, Mumbai emerged victorious in the end, winning by a margin of only six runs.HISTORY Mumbai was the squad to beat on the home circuit during that time. They had already claimed 38 victories in this competition, four of which came in the previous seven seasons. They had defeated Uttar Pradesh in the 2008–09 competition, making them the reigning champions.

They faced Karnataka, a team with six titles under their belt but without a victory in the previous ten seasons.Mumbai only lost one match in the group stage, against Himachal Pradesh, but only one of their subsequent six games—all draws—saw them give up a first-inning advantage, against Tamil Nadu. On the strength of a first-inning advantage, they subsequently defeated Delhi in the semi-final and Haryana in the quarter-final to guarantee their spot in the championship game. Karnataka, meanwhile, prevailed in four of their six group stage matches; nevertheless, a first-inning advantage also determined the outcome of their quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, respectively.THE COMPETITION On paper, the two teams were very equal and either may have won the championship. Mumbai chose to bat first after winning the toss, but Vinay Kumar destroyed their top order in the opening session. After dismissing captain Wasim Jaffer (3) and opener Sahil Kukreja (0) in his first three overs, the right-arm seamer removed in-form Ajinkya Rahane to reduce Mumbai to 20/3. While Onkar Khanvilkar (25), and Nayar (37), did remain for a while, Vinayak Samant (67), the wicketkeeper-batter, was the one who ensured Mumbai would make it past 200.

Though Karnataka was also without Rahul Dravid, Mumbai was obviously missing Rohit Sharma, who had even hammered a triple century earlier in the tournament.

The likes of Iqbal Abdulla (30) and Ramesh Powar (23).Mumbai was aware that their score was below average, but they also understood that Karnataka would find it difficult to counter an attack that included Agarkar, Kulkarni, Aavishkar Salvi, Powar, Nayar, and Abdulla. And that's precisely what took place. The only player to score more than thirty runs was opener KB Pawan (33), as Karnataka lost a lead of 103 runs when they were bowled out for 130. Salvi, a right-arm seamer, claimed five wickets, with Kulkarni contributing two. Mumbai jumped off to a commanding lead in the first innings, but Karnataka showed no signs of giving up. Mumbai's top order was once again demolished by Abhimanyu Mithun (6/71) and Vinay Kumar (3/78), who reduced them to 34/4. While the lead remained in the 130s, Nayar (50) and Kulkarni (87) put onHaving scored three hundreds and four fifties before the final, Pandey, the edition's top run scorer (882 runs @ 63), kept his best for last. With a partnership of 209 runs (215-ball 75) with Satish, the youthful batsman hit 18 fours and a six in his 151-ball 144. With seven wickets left, Karnataka needed just 83 runs after Pandey took the attack to Mumbai. After Abdulla secured the crucial wicket of Pandey, Karnataka promptly lost Amit Verma and Satish as well. Stuart Binny (17) and Sunil Joshi (16) contributed 36 runs for the seventh wicket to provide some steadiness in the crowded Gangothri Glades. But in the room, the two were ignored.