Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium will be witness to yet another historic Ranji Trophy final for the second year in a row starting tomorrow (December 29, 2017) when Team Vidarbha will clash with Team Delhi for the coveted title. Last year, at the same stadium, Team Gujarat thrashed the dominant Team Mumbai to win Ranji Trophy for the first time.

While the match is historic for Faiz Fazal led Vidarbha as they have reached the Ranji Trophy final for the first time by beating Karnataka in the semi-final, it’s also important for Rishabh Pant led Delhi, which is looking forward to end its 10-year-old jinx.

Delhi is known for producing quite a few international cricketers over the years, so it may enter the final as a favourite for many. But its team members do realise that things cannot be taken for granted at Ranji Trophy where very often underdogs have thrashed giants. Rishabh Pant, while speaking to the media about the match said, “We are just focused on the job at hand. We know we will have to play really well to win the match.”

Both the batsmen and bowlers from Vidarbha have been in stupendous form this season. Skipper Faiz Fazal himself has accumulated 843 runs with five centuries. Opener RR Sanjay, Ganesh Satish and Wasim Jaffer have accumulated 735, 626, and 500 runs respectively. Among the bowlers Rajneesh Gurbani, Akshay Wakhare and Aditya Sarvate too have been impressive by clinching 31, 29 and 26 wickets respectively.

Delhi openers Gautam Gambhir and Kunal Chandela too have been in top form and middle-order batsman Nitish Rana has also scored a lot of runs in the tournament. Among the bowlers, 25-year-old Navdeep Saini, has clinched wickets consistently. By taking seven wickets against Bengal in semi-finals, he along with his pace partner Kulwant Khejroliya (four wickets) paved way for Delhi to the finals. Left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra is also one of the top wicket takers this season with 32 wickets.

Will Vidarbha create history by winning its maiden Ranji Trophy title or will Delhi win its eighth Ranji Trophy title thereby ending its ten-year-long wait? Only time will tell. But it is certainly going to be an exciting match for sure!

Who are you rooting for?