Hanuma Vihari and his Andhra team achieved one of the most dramatic KO qualifications the Ranji Trophy has seen in recent memory.
In an elite Group B stacked with the country’s strongest contenders, Andorra overpowered Mumbai and Maharashtra, running from behind to the Quarters.
incredible twist
Going into his last two rounds, Andhra (13 points) didn’t have much to do except for a few points to retain his fourth place. Saurashtra was closing in on the last eight as Mumbai and Maharashtra battled for his second place.
Andorra then surprised Saurashtra with an impressive 150-run win at Rajkot. The team lucked out on the third day of that match when Hanuma Bihari saw an opportunity after securing a 178-run lead for the home side in the first innings. Looking ahead to the Mumbai-Delhi match, he saw an opportunity to close his 10-point deficit with a record-breaking rune his trophy his champions.
“We weren’t following the Mumbai vs. Delhi game. They were 20 without a loss at one point and suddenly they were 37/5 towards the end of lunch. The result was not immediately apparent. However, looking at this ranking, I thought that if we caught up and scored seven goals, we would have a chance. But with a lead of just 178 runs, we also knew it was a little risky. I felt that it was important to score a comfortable 6 points. I didn’t understand well, so I asked the referee about the rules. But they told me once I made a decision, I couldn’t change it,” Vihari told Sportster.
Luckily for his team, Vihari’s instinctive decision paid off and Andorra went on to beat Saurashtra in his day and a half, scoring six points. final drama
Heading into the final round, Saurashtra qualified, with Maharashtra (25 points) and Mumbai (23) clashing for his second place in a virtual knockout. Meanwhile, Andorra, 19, had a ‘0.01%’ chance of qualifying, head coach Jelle Goud later said.
Vihari said in Mumbai vs Maharashtra that he had five sessions left in his three days at Vizianagaram, and even if Andorra finished the campaign with a full inning and his 95 carries against Assam, there was little hope. I admit I didn’t.
“We won 4 out of 7! We fought hard, but not this year. We will come back stronger next season. I’m proud to lead this group to give everything locally,” Bihari posted on social media 1.
46:00 PM on Day 3 of Round 7.
Within the next 90 minutes, high-class drama in Mumbai saw the home side level with Maharashtra’s first innings score of 384 after the brave Tanoush Khotian fell as the last man on 93. It’s the 10th time in the history of over 5000 games that neither team has topped the Ranji Trophy match. Of course Vihari had to delete the post.
The next day’s draw meant Andorra moved into second place ahead of Maharashtra despite the points equalization, with the BCCI’s new tie-breaking rule that the number of bonus points earned was the first criterion. was meant to be Andhra scored his first in the final round, while Maharashtra hadn’t scored anything so far.
Delirium reigned among the Andhra team members. Most of them left for their hometowns after Round 3, but the captain and some of his teammates remained in Vizag.