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MUM won by an innings and 70 runs

3:32 PM IST and Local Time: That's it. We are done and dusted in Mumbai and it is the hosts Mumbai that make their way into the finals with a convincing innings and 70 runs win over Tamil Nadu. Mumbai makes it to their 47th Ranji Trophy Final and have dominated Tamil Nadu in all three days of the game.  

Let's recap you how things unfolded in this semi-final clash. It was Tamil Nadu who won the toss on a green top wicket and decided to bat first and were blown away for 146 in 64.1 overs. Only Vijay Shankar and Washington Sundar showed some resistance with 44 and 43 respectively. For Mumbai, Tushar Deshpande picked up 3 wickets while Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian and Musheer Khan picked up a couple of wickets apiece. 

In reply, Mumbai were in early trouble but were rescued by a magnificent innings from Shardul Thakur who scored his first First Class Hundred as he scored 109. Musheer Khan at the top scored 55 while Hardik Tamore scored 35. Tanush Kotian scored a magnificent unbeaten 89*. Tushar Deshpande scored 26 and was the last man out as Mumbai were bowled out for 378 with a lead of 232 runs. Skipper Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers with 6 wickets for 99 runs in 38 overs. A couple of wickets for Kuldeep Sen while Sandeep Warrier and Washington Sundar picked up a wicket apiece. 

Faced with a deficit of 232 runs, Tamil Nadu lost early wickets as three fell very early. Baba Indrajith showed some resistance with his 70 off 105 balls. Paul, Shankar and Sai Kishore scored 20s but the others fell away as they were bowled out for 162 in 51.5 overs. For Mumbai, Shams Mulani picked up 4 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai. Shardul Thakur was excellent with his 2/16 in 10 overs. A couple of wickets for Mohit Avasthi and Tanush Kotian as Mumbai were too good in the end. 

So, Mumbai wins this match easily by an innings and 70 runs and qualify for the finals for the 47th time. Stick around for the presentations.   

Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (Tamil Nadu Captain)- "I am a very instinctive guy and at that moment, I thought of batting first. Yes, a lot of people think that bowling second would have been good, I think after getting bundled out for 146, we came back well to reduce them to 106 for 7 but all the appreciation goes to Shardul and Tanush. Yes, we failed in the second innings. Our players are good, the dressing room environment was really good. Some days, things doesn't fall in places. That's it. Until we are the champion, we consider the season as failure. We will try to come back working relentlessly."

Shardul Thakur (Player of the Match): "Yes, of course happy about my 100. Have been scoring cameos of 70s and 80s and now a well deserved 100 for me. It has been extremely tough journey. It's been 12 years. I was fat and now leaners and fitter. Living in the present and not thinking about the past. I think you have to stay remain patient and attack with the new ball. It was my day and whatever I tried fell in my place. Yes, of course, the celebration was for all people who have done so much for Mumbai. Yes, a lot of hard work goes on. We always like to give our best for Mumbai whenever we play and kudos to us. The final is still 5 days away and we will give our best in the finals I am sure. The schedule is tough and we need more rest between games especially in the knockout games. Too less days for us. Before, there used to be more days rest but now it's hardly any. So, this needs to be relooked at."  

Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai Captain)- "Really happy for our boys. Credit goes to Shardul. Getting a hundred taking the chances and then, we wanted to have a guy who would take the chances and he did that for us. I want to mention the contribution of Tanush Kotian. The culture in the dressing room is to give our cricketers the freedom to play their natural game. We give the required assistance to every guy, specially who is not doing well. Having the correct attitude on the field throughout each day of a first class game is very important. You have to give 100% of your ability to win the game be it any level of the game. We are taking every game as just like another game, nothing much regarding the final. You will not get every game perfectly but the intent us required. To reach the final, you have to play consistently good cricket. We have two more days before we start our preparations for the final."

That's it from the coverage of the second semi-final between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu with Mumbai winning easily by an innings and 70 runs and qualify for the finals for the 47th time. Stick around to our network for all other cricketing actions across the globe and across formats.

 For now, this is Ayan Chatterjee signing off alongside my co-commentators Saptak Sanyal and Soumarya Dutta alongside scorer/analyst Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodbye and CHEERS!