Ajinkya Rahane (116 not out) and Ajit Agarkar (78) saved Mumbai the blushes with a 174-run partnership as the visitors reached a respectable 238 for five on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Haryana in Rohtak.
Pandit guided an unheralded Vidarbha side to second successive titles with a mix of strategic acumen and old school discipline.
Left-arm spinners Iqbal Abdulla and Harmeet Singh scalped four wickets each as Mumbai crawled back into the game, trailing Himachal Pradesh by just eight runs with 10 wickets and two days in hand on second day of their Super League Group A Ranji Trophy match.
'He's not going to have a lot of long road ahead of him where he's going to play without pressure. It will eventually catch up.'
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
'If he had got the support, he would have finished in that legendary group of cricketers who have played 100 Tests for the country.' 'He never complained, but that might have gone against him because sometimes you have to be open and make your point clearly otherwise people take you for granted.'
Mumbai and Karnataka will meet in the final of the Ranji Trophy. Both made the grade by virtue of the first innings lead in the semi-finals against Delhi and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
Stand-in skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with an unbeaten 88 as Delhi spanked Saurashtra by eight wickets to pocket five points from their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match at home on Friday. Chasing 160, the hosts cruised to 161 for 2 in 32 overs, with Kohli and Mithun Manhas (23) guiding them to victory.
Rohit Sharma held the Mumbai innings together with an unbeaten 94, as the defending champions took a vital 61-run lead after scoring 248 for eight in their first essay, on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against Railways in Delhi on Wednesday.
Riding on fine performances from veteran Ajit Agarkar and left-arm spinners Iqbal Abdulla and Harmeet Singh, Mumbai staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Himachal Pradesh by 85 runs in a Group A Super League Ranji Trophy match in Mumbai on Friday. The hosts, who were bundled out for a paltry 162 in the first innings, thereby conceding an 84-run lead, dismissed Himachal for 166 in 67 overs, 13 minutes before tea, after setting the visitors a target of 252 to win.
Riding on a 103-run second wicket partnership between Ravi Inder Singh (58) and Uday T Kaul (62), Punjab salvaged a draw against Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy Super League group A match in Chandigarh.
In a bizarre incident, the start of a Ranji Trophy match between Vidarbha and Andhra on Monday was delayed by a few minutes after a snake entered the ground in Vijaywada.
Gujarat Titans have appointed former India wicketkeeper-batter Vijay Dahiya as their new assistant coach ahead of the upcoming IPL season.
Amid India's recent struggles in Test cricket, former England spinner Monty Panesar has raised doubts over Shubman Gill's leadership, describing him as a 'complacent cricketer' and insisting that the burden of all-format captaincy is currently beyond him.
With three league games still to be played, the former champions would need outright victories in all their remaining fixtures to harbour any realistic chance of making it to the knockout stage.
Rookie medium pacer Sudeep Tyagi sliced through Orissa's batting capturing six wickets for 46 as the hosts crumbled for 216 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar excelling on his Test debut is a testament to the robust structure that BCCI has created for talent identification, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Monday after the home team trounced Afghanistan inside three days in Mullanpur.
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya discusses his journey from a 'pure batter' to a key player, crediting hard work and Mumbai Indians' scouting system for his success.
A summary of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
Medium pacer Krishnakant Upadhyay's inspiring spell helped Railways restrict defending champions Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy match in New Delhi. A summary of the day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches.
Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan is all set to be back in action having recovered from a fractured left-thumb sustained during the second Test match against New Zealand at Kolkata in September.
It's a dream come true for young Manav Suthar. His maiden India call up for the one-off Test against Afghanistan came after learning the ropes through street cricket and ignoring constant discouragement from people not to pick the game as career option.
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different part of the country
First phase from Feb 10, knockouts from May 30.
Fixtures for the 2013-14 season.
Mhatre replaces Jaiswal in Mumbai squad for Ranji Trophy fixture against Himachal Pradesh
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy semi-final matches played on Monday
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
Bengal's most potent match winner Ashok Dinda rose to the occasion when it mattered the most as his five-wicket burst ensured a 43-run win against Railways in a Ranji Trophy Group A league encounter in Dharamsala on Sunday. Needing 119 runs on the final day with five wickets in hand to reach a victory target of 315, Railways could manage 271 in 93.2 overs largely due to Dinda's 5/67. Bengal are now firmly on course for a knockout berth with 15 points in their kitty with two outright wins and three points by virtue of first innings lead in a drawn match.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played across the country
Kalra was banned from Ranji Trophy as well as U-23 tournaments on a complaint filed by former Delhi captain Kirti Azad's faction, alleging that the left-handed opener has fudged his age since the U-16 level.
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy was on Thursday named the captain of Tamil Nadu for this seasons' national T20 tournament for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beginning on November 26.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra, who played vital role in helping Rajasthan win consecutive Ranji Trophy titles, has decided to join Himachal Pradesh for the upcoming domestic season.
A round-up of the opening day action of various Ranji Trophy group league matches on Saturday.
'That has been the big factor behind me coming so far in my career.'
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy games being played in different parts of the country
Tamil Nadu took less than 10 overs to complete the formalities and notch up an emphatic 104-run win over Maharashtra on the fourth and concluding day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match in Chennai on Tuesday.
Hosts Punjab put up a stellar show as they notched up their second successive bonus point as they thrashed a listless Bengal by an innings and 27 runs in a second round Ranji Trophy match in Mohali on Monday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is the unofficial mentor to the Jharkhand cricket team, is set to watch his state side take on Gujarat in its first ever Ranji Trophy semi-final, starting in Nagpur on Sunday.
Mumbai crushed Saurashtra by an innings and 21 runs in the final to win their 41st Ranji Trophy title, in Pune, on Friday.
