Scorecard of the Day : Bombay vs. Harayana Ranji Final '91

[jhakati]

http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/54/54175.html Featured and signified all that Bombay cricket stands for even though they ended up on the losing side by 2 runs. Given 355 runs to chase in slightly less than 70 overs on a last day Wankhede wicket, Bombay went for it and almost got there, missing out by 2 runs. Dilip Vengsarkar remained unbeaten on a pristine 139 and Tendulkar blitzed a better than run a ball 96 with a solid contribution from Kambli. The tail could not hold up though and Bombay ended up losing. There was a nice article on the match somewhere on the web which I can't locate right now, but if someone can find it please post it here.

tendu choked again? :beee:

[Vijay.Sharma]

Awesome game. I remember it so very well. At one time Haryana had the game in its kitty but then Colonel and SRT forged a fantastic partnership. Unfortunately SRT was dismissed short of a well deserved century and Mumbai's lower order panicked. The last man Kuruvilla was run out with Mumbai 2 runs short. Vengsarkar, who was unbeaten on 139, cried in the middle. This is one classic example of how Indians loath their cricketing history(sorry to say). Had this final played between Lancashire and Yorkshire it would have been a folklore by now.

The Colonel wept inconsolably when he was left stranded on 139. I remember this game very well too - maybe for the same reasons as you do, Kapsy led Haryana to Ranji glory :icflove:

[coffee_rules]

So Tendulkar has been a choker in the finals from the beginning! :vroam: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_so-near-yet-so-far_1077304 So near, yet so far... Published: Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007, 22:46 IST By Nihal Koshie MUMBAI: Those who witnessed the match swear that there were at least 30,000 spectators at the Wankhede on the fifth day of the Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Haryana. The 1990-91 final saw the narrowest of victory margins — two runs — separating the winners, Haryana, and runners-up, Mumbai. It was high adrenaline stuff back then. The Sachin Tendulkar versus Sourav Ganguly grand finale to be played at the Wankhede when Mumbai take on Bengal from Friday will struggle to match up to what was seen on May 7, 1991. Mumbai, needing 355 for victory in 67 overs, reached 352 before being bowled out. The last man standing was Dilip Vengsarkar on an unbeaten 139 (139 balls, 237 minutes, 9x4, 5x6). “It was a tremendous game. There was a lot of anticipation before the match. Haryana had Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja and Chetan Sharma but we were still the favourites,” recalls Vengsarkar. Mumbai was led by Sanjay Manjrekar and had in its ranks names like Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli besides the likes of Lalchand Rajput and Chandrakant Pandit. But what added to the anticipation was the rivalry between Vengsarkar and Kapil. “We were very fierce rivals. It was a healthy rivalry and we had lot of respect for each other’s ability. There was excitement in the air when we played against each other,” Vengsarkar says. “If I remember right we started batting in the fourth innings an hour before lunch on the last day. We were three down by lunch. Sachin (Tendulkar) and I, we put on a good partnership. At one point Mumbai needed 60-odd runs with four wickets in hand. But the tail folded up,” the current selection committee chairman recalls. Vengsarkar batted with a runner, Lalchand Rajput, as the innings progressed on that humid day. “Sachin (96 runs, 75 balls, 9x4, 5x6) played a fantastic knock. Kapil and Chetan Sharma were bowling at their best. Kapil was constantly telling his boys, even after we lost three early wickets, that the game was not over. In the end it was closer than anyone could have imagined,” Vengsarkar recalls. Abey Kuruvilla, who was making his debut, was the last man to be dismissed. He braved 24 balls before getting run out with the team still two runs short and 2.2 overs to spare. “There was a misunderstanding between me and Rajput (runner) and I was run out after Amarjit Kaypee fielded brilliantly. Incidentally, there were three run outs in Mumbai’s second innings,” Kuruvilla says. Vengsarkar took 26 runs off spinner Yogendra Bhandari to drastically reduce the target. The sequence of scoring shots was 6, 4, 6, 6 and 4. “It’s perhaps the best match I have ever played. I was in the same team as all the stars. It was a dream come true. I only wish we had won,” Kuruvilla, who took five wickets in the game, says. Vengsarkar was in tears: Kapil World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev holds Haryana’s win at the Wankhede over Mumbai very close to his heart. “Beating Mumbai in their own backward was very special. Playing against a traditionally strong Ranji side that was full of Test players and winning against them was great. Moreover, Mumbai were a very experienced team,” Kapil told DNA. For Haryana that came into existence in 1966, the win over Mumbai in 1991 had a similar effect for the state as the World Cup win of 1983 had on Indian cricket. “It was a great match overall but most importantly for Haryana it was a big, big win,” Kapil says. “For the players and for everyone it meant so much.” “Vengsarkar was in tears at the end of the game. It just showed how much the title meant for Mumbai,” Kapil recalls. “Personally, I would rate the 1991 Ranji Trophy final in my top-five games ever.” Haryana have never won the Ranji Trophy title before or after the 1991 victory. It was also the game that saw Tendulkar in full flow. “Sachin hit me for a straight six. It was a shot of great class and his genius was there for all to see,” Kapil recalls. We did it for Paaji, says Sharma Chetan Sharma bowled the last over of the match. “It was the best Ranji Trophy final ever,” Sharma, who took three wickets in the match, says. “Haryana had never won the Ranji Trophy though we had been in the final against Delhi in 1985-86. Kapil paaji was the skipper in that losing final. So against Mumbai we were trying to ensure that Kapil paaji can lead Haryana to their first win. We all played for Kapil paaji that day.” “I clearly remember Abey Kuruvilla being struck by a full toss from Kapil. We were all certain that the batsman was out. But the umpire thought otherwise. I have never ever seen Kapil so angry in his life,” Sharma