Vidarbha created history at the Eden Gardens on Thursday when they beat a star-studded Karnataka by five runs to reach their first-ever Ranji Trophy final. It was a thrilling semi-final, a classic case of underdog triumph in sport, with Vidarbha defending only 198 against a batting line-up consisting of Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal.
But medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani was the star of the match with 12 wickets, seven of which came in the second innings to dismiss the eight-time champions for 192 in the first session of the final day’s play. In the end, Faiz Fazal and Co managed to make it to their first-ever final by the skin of their teeth, a story that has delighted Indian cricket fans on social media.
In the final, they will will take on Delhi at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore from December 29 to January 02.
Vidarbha’s victory was celebrated by the cricket community
What a win!!! Glad I cud play small role. Rajneesh was awesome. 12 wkts in semis is fantastic. Now for a repeat vs Delhi. BOL Vid#Vidarbha #RajneeshGurbani #Ranjitrophy pic.twitter.com/yJdH90CQ46
— Umesh Yaadav (@y_umesh) December 21, 2017
Vidarbha, you beauty. What a season...played like a top team right from the beginning. #RanjiTrophy
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 21, 2017
Congrats Vidarbha for reaching into finals first time #RanjiTrophy 2017 well done boys 👍
— tanya umesh yadaav (@tanya_wadhwa) December 21, 2017
Vidarbha create history making it into the finals of #ranji trophy 2017.The man who made all the difference. Well bowled@Rajneesh gurbani pic.twitter.com/ZVnbVCbLul
— karnn sharmaa (@sharmakarn03) December 21, 2017
Fans were delighted at the underdog triumph story
Sweet memories of bunking college classes to watch this team being thrashed by every other team inside three days. Never thought this day would ever dawn. Such an amazing feeling to see Vidarbha enter Ranji final.
— Pushkar (@Pushkarr) December 21, 2017
That Vidarbha has had so many heroes this season - Faiz Fazal, Sanjay Ramaswamy, Gurbani, Sarwate, Satish, Jaffer, and Chandrakant Pandit from behind the scenes - tells you how they have launched full-blown, collective assaults on other sides #RanjiTrophy2017
— Arun Venugopal (@scarletrun) December 21, 2017
6 men from that 2009-10 loss were playing today.
— Chinmay Jawalekar🇮🇳🏏 (@CricfreakTweets) December 21, 2017
Vinay, Arvind, Binny, Mithun, Gautam for Karnataka.
Ganesh Satish (then Karnataka, now Vidarbha)
What a fightback from Vidarbha, conceding 116 runs lead and yet manaded to win by 5 runs vs @RanjiKarnataka . This reminded me of 1991 #RanjiTrophy finals .
— Deepesh Kanabar (@deepeshmdk1906) December 21, 2017
What a great day for Vidarbha cricket team. A win over fancied Karnataka after conceding a first innings lead of 116 runs and maiden entry into Ranji finals. Onwards and upward, Vidarbha, while Karnataka can still claim moral victory
— Freelance Masakadzas (@Nesenag) December 21, 2017
David win over Goliath. Congrats Pandits men. #RanjiTrophy2017 #Vidarbha pic.twitter.com/H1KwkOLiga
— Jithu Jose Parackal (@straight_edge24) December 21, 2017
Take a bow Vidarbha! We crave for such beautiful moments in sport, thanks for giving us one! Hope to see a new team win Ranji Trophy this season!
— North Stand-Wankhede (@NorthStandGang) December 21, 2017
Number game
Closest finishes in Ranji Trophy knockouts:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) December 21, 2017
2 runs - Haryana v Mumbai, 1991-92 Final
5 runs - MP v Karnataka, 1992-93 Pre-QF
5 runs - Vidarbha v Karnataka, 2017-18 semifinal#RanjiTrophy2017
This is the first time Karnataka failed to chase down a target under 200 and also the first time Vidarbha defended a target less than 200. #RanjiTrophy #KARvVID
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) December 21, 2017