From zero to hero: Mumbai’s miraculous comeback in Ranji Trophy 2006-07

“See you in the final, if you qualify.”

When Mumbai’s captain Amol Muzumdar said these words to Hyderabad’s coach, Vivek Jaisimha, Mumbai were staring at relegation. They had conceded the first-innings lead in their first two matches and then suffered a nine-wicket loss at the hands of Hyderabad. At the halfway stage of the group round, Mumbai had 0 points in front of their name. And yet, Muzumdar’s words were full of conviction. Only one of these two teams progressed to the knock-outs of the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy season and it was not Hyderabad.

Horrendous beginning

After losing the semi-final of the previous season, Mumbai began the 2006-07 season with a new coach, Pravin Amre. The opening encounter was against the last season’s finalist, Bengal at Kolkata. Batting first, Bengal batsmen took full advantage of the inexperienced Mumbai bowling unit as they declared on 578/7 in 188 overs. The visitors used nine bowlers during this runathon which included captain Amol Muzumdar and opener Vinayak Mane. In reply, Mumbai collapsed from 262/2 and conceded the first-innings lead in the drawn game.

Mumbai travelled to Mohali for their next match which was against Punjab. Here again, they fell five runs short chasing the first innings total of 353. Muzumdar was the last man to be dismissed as he got run out on 119. Then came the crushing blow. At Hyderabad, the home side skittled Mumbai for just 115 in the second innings. On the fourth day, Hyderabad wrapped up a nine-wicket win with jubilant celebrations just outside the boundary rope.

Hyderabad provide the spark

“That season was a unique one for us. Mumbai had not won any of their first three matches that season. It was not a pleasant sight to see Hyderabad celebrate with champagne outside the boundary line (in Hyderabad) with some 20 of their association officials including Shivlal Yadav (former India off-spinner and then HCA office-bearer). We lost to Hyderabad for the first-ever time. There was some serious talk in the dressing room after that when I said that Mumbai was not playing the way it should,” Muzumdar said while recalling the situation a decade later.

The points system in Ranji Trophy 2006-07 had no provisions for the team that was trailing after the first innings in a drawn game. After three matches, Mumbai had no points and the possibility of them being relegated to the Plate league gave sleepless nights to the players and the coach. From there on, Mumbai needed to win every remaining match.

Hat-trick

One factor that aided Mumbai in taking up the enormous task is that they still had home games up their sleeves. Their maiden home match was against Gujarat at the Wankhede Stadium. Unleashing the lion within, Mumbai notched their first win of the season with a margin of an innings and 163 runs. Rohit Sharma’s 205 from 267 balls and left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni’s 10-wicket haul in the match gave their team a new lease of hope.

Captain Muzumdar’s century at the same venue alongside a collective bowling effort helped Mumbai convert their victory into a winning streak. They bundled Rajasthan twice and clinched the game at Wankhede by an innings and 31 runs. One victory now separated Mumbai from progressing to the knockouts.

At Nasik, opener Sahil Kukreja and number three Hiken Shah slammed centuries. Wasim Jaffer and Abhishek Nayar also posted respective fifties which helped Mumbai declare with a daunting total of 515/8. Ajit Agarkar’s 5/41 in the first innings and Kulkarni’s 6/43 in the second guided Mumbai to their third successive innings victory. Three wins on the trot catapulted Mumbai into the semis edging out Hyderabad who had defeated them outright.

Mumbai registered three massive victories on the trot.

All over in Semis?

Baroda won the toss in the second semi-final at Vadodara and decided to make the first use of the track. At 75/4, Mumbai were in trouble. But once again, captain Muzumdar’s resolute 97 powered the team to 233 all out. He later said 233 on that track was as good as 400. Mumbai’s bowling unit then ran through Baroda’s batting unit to gain a significant 91-run lead. However, the drama had just begun.

In Mumbai’s second innings – Sahil Kukreja, Wasim Jaffer, Hiken Shah, Amol Muzumdar and Rohit Sharma – all five returned without a run against their name as the scoreboard looked scarcely believable. Mumbai 0/5! The diminutive wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant rose to the occasion. His gritty knock of 66 with Wilkin Mota’s 33 and Kulkarni’s 17 helped Mumbai set a target for 237 runs for the Baroda side. The modest-looking bowling unit – Rajesh Verma, Swapnil Hazare, Abhishek Nayar and Mota – clinched a 63-run victory as Mumbai stormed into the final of Ranji Trophy 2006-07.

Star-studded final

The stage was set for a showdown as Mumbai’s big names returned for the colossal clash. Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and Ramesh Powar made their way back into the Mumbai side whereas Sourav Ganguly featured in the Bengal team.

In the final at Wankhede, Bengal won the toss and chose to field. With Mumbai at 14/2, Bengal had the upper hand. Sachin and Jaffer resurrected the innings as both went on to celebrate their centuries. Zaheer’s 5/40 then secured a lead of 177 runs for the home side. Bengal bowlers did stop Mumbai at 294 all out on the third day but they faced a daunting target of 472 runs. With Sourav Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary firing, Bengal had a glimmer of hope. But with Zaheer’s four-for, they eventually fell 132 runs short.

In the aftermath, captain Muzumdar hailed the team effort behind this incredible feat. Extraordinarily, none of Mumbai batsmen featured in the top-five run-getters of Ranji Trophy 2006-07 season and none of their bowlers featured in the top-ten wicket-takers. With the threat of bowing out of the group stage hanging over their head at one stage, Mumbai won five matches in a row and completed an astonishing turnaround to go on and clinch the Ranji Trophy.