For the second year running, the famous Ranji Trophy was lifted by a team for the first time in their history. While Gujarat managed to stun Mumbai in the final of last edition, Vidarbha went on script a famous triumph of their own to mark the beginning of 2018 with a memorable sporting story. A nine-wicket win against Delhi with a whole day to spare was nothing less than their performances have deserved this season.

“It’s nothing less than a fairy tale,” beamed captain Faiz Fazal at the post-match presentation. For a team that has long been whipping boys of the tournament in the past, Vidarbha remained unbeaten through out the season, playing attacking cricket – it was a ruthless run where they recorded seven outright wins out of the nine matches they played.

The final records for the season tell you the story. Two of the top five wicket-takers and run-getters are from Vidarbha. Four players have scored more than 500 runs in the season, all four averaging above 50. This has been, as Fazal insisted post-match, a truly collective effort.

Here are the five players who played the most crucial roles in this dream run to the title.

Rajneesh Gurbani

Yes it was a team effort that ultimately saw Vidarbha become champions, but the undoubted star of the show has been Rajneesh Gurbani – the man who won three player-of-the-match awards in the three knockout matches. Gurbani took 27 wickets in those three matches combined at an average of just over 14, including four five-wicket hauls. He single-handedly ended Karnataka’s hopes of winning this tournament in that thrilling semi-final – a match that Vidarbha managed to win despite being on the back-foot for a significant part. And when Delhi were looking set to post a big score in the first innings in the final, he took a hat-trick – only the second bowler to do so in a Ranji final – and finished with six wickets. The last four he took on the second morning were all deliveries that rattled the stumps, he didn’t even need his teammates’ assistance.

When the dust settles on this Ranji Trophy campaign, the 24-year-old Gurbani will be remembered as the man who spearheaded the show. Remember the name.

Faiz Fazal

The Vidarbha captain has been a hard-working servant of his side for 14 years now. Since making his debut in 2003 an enthusiastic teenager, he has matured into a fine batsman in the recent years and an even better leader this season. He scored runs when Vidarbha were a struggling side, and he scored runs when they were the all-conquering side this year. Only Mayank Agarwal, who scored 1000 runs just in November, was more prolific this year. His 912 runs came at an average of 70. He scored five centuries (one of them a double) and a fifty in the fourteen innings he played. Along with R Sanjay, Vidarbha’s opening partnership was the bedrock on which their seven wins and two draws were built.

And it’s the timing of the centuries that were crucial too. Ask anyone from the Vidarbha team at what they point they truly started believing that this season held something special, they would point to the away win against Bengal in November. Fazal and Sanjay were the stars of Vidarbha’s batting lineup once again with both scoring centuries on their way to a opening wicket stand of 259. He set his team on the way to an impressive 10-wicket win against one of the better sides in the tournament, in their own backyard. After two low scores to start the season, he found form at the right time and didn’t look back. His second innings century against Kerala in the quarter-final was key to the team’s 412-run win – the highest win margin by runs in the tournament’s history.

And in the final, once again he chipped with an useful 67 at the top, making sure Delhi’s bowlers didn’t do any early damage on a sporting wicket.

Pardon the cliche, but Fazal truly did lead from the front.

After the semi-final win (Courtesy: Umesh Yadav / Twitter)

Ganesh Satish

“The way we won against Punjab, they had all the stars in the team and we got seven points in that game,” Fazal had said in the lead up to the final. “That start was really important for us. The way we’ve been playing the whole season, we always want to win the game, not only take the first-innings lead like we played in the quarter-finals.”

And the man who was instrumental behind that win which started it all was former Karnataka batsman S Ganesh. His fluent 164 helped Vidarbha start their campaign in fine style against Yuvraj Singh and Co and earned him the man of the match award. But the innings he will be truly proud of in a season where he scored 638 runs at an average of 58, was the 81 against his old side Karnataka in the semi-final – the innings that helped Vidarbha set a target that proved to be just out of reach for the then-tournament favourites.

He is not the first name that comes to anyone’s mind when you talk about batsmen from Karnataka over the past few years – such is the array of stars the state has produced. While the likes of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey have formed the core of the second-most successful Ranji side of all time, Ganesh was left to find newer pastures. The 29-year-old, who has played 76 first class matches at an average of 44 till date, decided to be a professional for Vidarbha a few seasons back and he was the fulcrum of the middle order in their march to the title. He stepped up when his side needed the most.

Akshay Wakhare

In a season that will be remembered for Gurbani’s heroics, the second best bowler of the side was the off-spinner, Wakhare. The tall, lanky bowler who boasts a unique action – with almost wrong-footed flourish at his delivery stride – took 34 wickets at an average of just over 21 and finished fourth on the list of wicket-takers this season. His personal highlight was the twin five-wicket hauls against Services in the group stages. He was also impressive in the win against Punjab, with his four-wicket haul in the second innings taking his side home in the opening round fixture.

Against Delhi, on the final day of action, Wakhare was the leading wicket-taker for Vidarbha, troubling the Delhi batsmen with his awkward action that generates extra bounce. Just when it looked like the Delhi middle order might make a fight out of it, his wickets helped the soon-to-be-champions face a target of just 29 to create history.

Wasim Jaffer

Nine Ranji Trophy finals. Nine titles. That’s Wasim Jaffer for you.

It was almost fitting that Jaffer was the man to score the winning runs and celebrate with his arms aloft and he got there in some style too. Three pull shots either side of the fine leg, and three boundaries to his name.

Jaffer, along with former Mumbai coach Chandrakanth Pandit, have been at the forefront of Vidarbha’s success. It’s not just about numbers for the 39-year-old – three of his teammates have scored more runs this season – but what the former Indian opener brought to the table in terms of his experience. Pandit has a reputation of being a hard taskmaster and having Jaffer in the side, who has experienced the methods of the coach first-hand and knows how to deliver results, was invaluable to Vidarbha.

And his numbers were not half bad either. His 595 runs at an average of 54 speak of his ability to contribute with the bat even after all these years.

Speaking to The Field after the semi-final win, Jaffer explained his role as a mentor – this team lacked the belief that they can win in the past but this year saw the transformation happen and he was at the heart of it.

“For someone like me who has played Ranji for over 20 years, the fire to achieve victory still burns bright, he had said after the win against Karnataka. “Having missed out on most of last season due to injury, the desire to make a mark this time around was greater. Apart from being a player, one of my roles was to guide my young teammates. The players were receptive to my tips and did not let their egos get the better of them.

“More than anything this win belongs to the team.”

It truly does.