'The way Mumbai batted in the second innings, they showed a lot of determination and courage. We tried to take wickets or create chances but they gave nothing for us to come back in the game.'
Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar on Thursday said his side never thought of giving up despite being set a record 538-run target by Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final.
Vidarbha prolonged Mumbai's wait for a record 42nd win in the Ranji Trophy for four sessions with a dogged batting effort.
Wadkar led the way with a fine 102 off 199 balls, adding 130 runs for the sixth wicket with Harsh Dubey but once the ‘last recognised' pair was separated, Vidarbha collapsed to hand Mumbai a 169-run win.
"When we spoke in the huddle and about partnerships, not for once did we did think that we were out from the game. We were only thinking about pulling it off as batters together,” Wadkar told the media after the conclusion of the final.
“It was a final, the last innings, so giving up and to think anything negative had no scope at all. We were talking about winning only,” Vidarbha added.
Wadkar said his rival captain and his side did not allow them to make a comeback.
“The way Mumbai batted in the second innings, they showed a lot of determination and courage. We tried to take wickets or create chances but they gave nothing for us to come back in the game,” Wadkar said.
“The partnership between Shreyas (Iyer) and Musheer, their performances and even Rahane's had pushed us out from the game. We had two days left in the game, Mumbai batted like khadoos and did not allow us back in the game,” he added.
Wadkar said he was also keeping an eye on Mumbai leader Ajinkya Rahane to see if he was frustrated with Vidarbha's fightback. In return, the 29-year-old got nothing but only leadership lessons from Rahane.
“He was totally cool and calm with his attitude, he did not show that he was getting frustrated or we were getting close to the target. It made us feel that we were still far away and had a lot left to do,” Wadkar added.
However, the wicketkeeper-batter ranked his eighth century in first-class cricket and first for this season as his best-ever.
Wadkar also expressed satisfaction over the fact that he was able to perform when the ‘whole world' was watching.
