Madhya Pradesh won their maiden Ranji Trophy title under their coach Chandrakant Pandit by defeating 41-time champions Mumbai in the final match.
Chasing a target of 108 in the second innings, MP were able to topple the 41-time Champions by six wickets in just 29.5 overs to claim their first Ranji Trophy title. Rajat Patidar scored the winning runs for the team. As Patidar hit the winning shot, the entire crowd erupted with RCB, RCB chants as he plays for the Bengaluru-based franchise in the IPL.
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The victory also meant that it was Pandit's sixth title win in the tournament. This was Pandit’s sixth trophy at the helm of a Ranji team. Previously he had led Mumbai (thrice), and Vidarbha (twice) to multiple Ranji Trophy titles.
Many noted former cricketers hailed Pandit for his stellar consistency as a coach in the Indian domestic cricket but Dinesh Karthik had some special praise reserved for Chandrakant Pandit as the coach guided Madhya Pradesh to their first Ranji Trophy title.
Taking to Twitter, the Indian wicketkeeper said he couldn't be happier for the 60-year-old. He also compared the Madhya Pradesh coach to legendary football manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
He Wrote, "Lovely pictures @BCCI, Couldn't be happier for CHANDU sir. Amazing, Understanding personality traits, Preparing them accordingly, Using them tactically to win championships. ALEX FERGUSON of RANJI trophy #GOAT,"
It is important to note that Chandrakant Pandit had lost the Ranji finals as a player in 1999 while leading Madhya Pradesh against Karnataka and now 23 years later, life came full circle as Madhya Pradesh won the title on the same ground.
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Talking about the win after the final, Pandit said: "It is a great memory that I had left 23 years back (he lost the Ranji Trophy final as MP captain in 1998-99) and it is a blessing that I come back here, and winning this trophy was fabulous. It is emotional because I missed out as captain on the same ground. There is no particular reason but I look for a challenging job where the teams are not doing well, there also should be youngsters and to develop that particular state. I used to play for MP and played for them for six years, I knew the culture and when the offer came to me in March, I did not hesitate."
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 "Dinesh Karthik tweet for Chandrakant Pandit")
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