On this day in 2016: Mumbai beat Saurashtra to lift Ranji Trophy for 41st time

On 26 February, 2016, Mumbai proved themselves once again by lifting the Ranji Trophy for the 41st time after defeating Saurashtra by comprehensive innings and 21 runs on day three of the five-day final held in Pune. Mumbai bowlers bundled out Saurashtra for 115 and capped off a dramatic day three. Mumbai had then played 45 finals for the Ranji Trophy out of which they won the 41. [caption id=“attachment_10409801” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Mumbai celebrating their 41st Ranji Trophy title. Courtesy: PTI[/caption] Mumbai won the toss and elected to field first. Even though Saurashtra’s Arpit Vasavada and Prerak Mankad hit 77 and 66 respectively, Mumbai bowlers managed to restrict the team to just 235 runs as Dhawal Kulkarni took five wickets and Shardul Thakur bagged three. When it was Mumbai’s turn to bat, right-hander Shreyas Iyer made a splendid century (117) while Siddhesh Lad added 88 on the scoreboard, taking the team to a commanding 371. Saurashtra suffered a top-order collapse in the second innings and lasted only 48.2 overs. Cheteshwar Pujara top-scored with a paltry 27 while Saurashtra’s other batters failed miserably at the crease. Mumbai’s right-arm fast bowler Shardul Thakur gave Saurashtra a hard time by taking five wickets in the second innings. Thakur’s fourth wicket was Deepak Punia, who was bowled out after making three runs and Saurashtra were then reduced to 102/9. Thakur took his fifth wicket by dismissing Hardik Rathod as he slipped the yorker under the left-hander’s bat and clipped off the stump. Saurashtra were bowled out for 115 in 48.2 overs, facing their second defeat in as many finals, against the same opponent. Mumbai’s Siddhesh Lad and Balwinder Sandhu’s partnership was worth 103 runs for the last wicket in the match’s second innings and the duo made a record of the highest tenth-wicket stand for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy history. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer won the title of Player of the Match for his outstanding century and Mumbai earned prize money of Rs 2 crore for winning the Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai Cricket Association also awarded the winning team with a cash reward of Rs 2 crore on their marvellous victory with an innings and 21 runs. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.