For the old guard of Mumbai cricket, a season without Ranji Trophy title is largely considered a failure. But Ajinkya Rahane stated that he was overall a happy captain with the manner in which Mumbai’s men’s domestic season progressed.
“I never get satisfied as well as I don’t want to pinpoint on certain areas. When you lose, it’s very easy to find excuses. I know as a captain, I am extremely proud of this unit. Especially the support staff, they have worked extremely hard,” Rahane said after Mumbai’s semifinal exit from the Ranji Trophy at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium on Friday.
“Winning the Irani Cup at the start of the season, then the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and now the semifinal of the Ranji Trophy. We did really well overall but there are areas we need to improve. I am sure players will individually introspect and we will come back stronger next year as a team.”
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Rahane admitted the team lacked consistency throughout the Ranji season. “This year was all about finding our way to winning a match. That’s what generally happens when you win the Ranji Trophy, the next season becomes really challenging. I thought we did really well. We played good cricket in patches. Consistency, like last year, was lacking, but I thought as a team and as individuals, I know how to move forward,” he said.
Rahane admitted that Suryakumar Yadav not taking the field on Day 4 forced the team to alter the plans while planning a gargantuan chase. “Surya had to bat down the order since he couldn’t take the field the whole day yesterday, I don’t know for sure, I think he was struggling with his hamstring, so we had to alter the plan,” he said.
“It wasn’t a pitch where you couldn’t attack right away. The pitch was slightly two-paced with a bit of variable bounce. The lower order could play their shots because they had nothing to lose. I still feel if the target was around 300-330 we would have definitely chased it down.”