Clinical Vidarbha Claim Third Ranji Trophy Title, Beat Kerala On 1st Innings Lead
Vidarbha beat Kerala in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 final on Sunday to win the prestigious domestic title for the first time since the 2018-19 season and overall the third time in history.
Vidarbha beat Kerala on Sunday (March 2) on the basis of the first innings lead to win the final match of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, which was played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. The Akshay Wadkar-led side scored 379 runs in the first innings and then bowled out Sachin Baby & Co. for 342 runs to secure a crucial lead of 37 runs, which in the end proved to be decisive.
The win over Kerala on Sunday has helped Vidarbha end the six-year-long wait for a third Ranji Trophy title. Vidarbha won its first Ranji Trophy title in the 2017-18 season by defeating Rishabh Pant’s Delhi by 9 wickets under the leadership of Faiz Fazal, and in the 2018-19 season it successfully defended the title by defeating Saurashtra in the final match played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur by 78 runs.
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Vidarbha played in the final of the Ranji Trophy last year as well but could only end as runners-up against Ajinkya Rahane’s Mumbai.
For Kerala, it was the first-ever Ranji Trophy final, but despite their best efforts, they failed to cross the final hurdle.
Most successful teams in Ranji Trophy
| TEAM | TITLES | LAST WIN |
| Bombay/Mumbai | 42 | 2024 |
| Karnataka / Mysore | 8 | 2015 |
| Delhi | 7 | 2008 |
| Madhya Pradesh / Holkar | 5 | 2022 |
| Baroda | 5 | 2001 |
| Saurashtra / Western India / Nawanagar | 4 | 2023 |
| Vidarbha | 3 | 2025 |
| Bengal | 2 | 1990 |
| Tamil Nadu/Madras | 2 | 1988 |
| Rajasthan / Rajputana | 2 | 2012 |
| Hyderabad | 2 | 1987 |
| Maharashtra | 2 | 1941 |
| Railways | 2 | 2005 |
| Uttar Pradesh / United Provinces | 1 | 2006 |
| Punjab / Southern Punjab | 1 | 1993 |
| Haryana | 1 | 1991 |
| Gujarat | 1 | 2017 |
Kerala, the first-time finalists, fought hard but Vidarbha were rewarded for their incredible hard work and discipline throughout a season in which they not only clinched the Ranji Trophy but also ended as the runner-up in the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy.
It is for the third time that Vidarbha have won the Ranji Trophy title, having done so earlier with their two consecutive wins in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
Vidarbha’s win now also makes them one of the strongest outfits in the Indian domestic cricket, for they had also finished as the runner-up in the Ranji Trophy last season.
The team under the captaincy of Akshay Wadkar and head coach Usman Ghani produced dominant performances throughout the Ranji Trophy season which was, for the first time in its 90-year history, split into two halves.
Vidarbha emerged as the best team across all the four groups in the league stage with six wins in seven matches giving them 40 points.
Unlike Kerala who also had luck on their side in the knockouts when they beat Jammu and Kashmir (quarterfinal) and Gujarat (semifinal) by barest of margins and progressed on basis of first-innings leads, Vidarbha grabbed outright wins.
Vidarbha crushed Tamil Nadu, last year’s semifinalists, by 198 runs in the quarterfinal and went on to pummel defending champions Mumbai by 80 runs in the semifinal.
Overall, Vidarbha won nine of the 10 matches they played in the Ranji Trophy this season, which reflects the dominance of the team in India’s premier domestic competition.
(With inputs from PTI)
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