All the odds were stacked up against Madhya Pradesh who qualified for the finals for the first time since the 1998-99 season. On the other hand, Mumbai who have dominated the domestic tournament since its inception have earned themselves a spot for the 47th time.
Rajat Patidar who is representing Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy finals certainly doesn't need any kind of introduction after his exploits for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Patidar who is having a stellar run amassed a total of 506 runs at an average of 72.28, including one hundred and five fifties. The RCB veteran was at his absolute best as he struck a 79-run knock in the second innings of the semi-final against Bengal. As of now, he is the anchor of MP's batting and Mumbai will look to put up a strong game plan against him. He has now continued his golden run as he stacked up a decent 122 runs off 219 deliveries at the strike rate of 55.71 with 20 boundaries to his name.
Taking the attack back to the Mumbai bowlers, Yash Dubey and Shubham Sharma batted as if they were on a different level altogether. Mumbai, who are playing their 47th final and are in the hunt for their 42nd title had the game in their clutches till the time Yash Dubey and Shubham Sharma walked out to bat. To Mumbai's surprise, the pitch did not have a lot to offer and they struggled throughout. Sensing the opportunity at their hand, Dubey and Sharma kept on tonking the Mumbai bowlers for runs and stitched together a 222-run stand for the second wicket. After their dismissal, Patidar ensured that he holds one end and does not throw his wicket away which might result in a collapse and give Mumbai an outside chance to win the game.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Patidar's ton:
