The Mumbai cricket team won a record-extending 42nd Ranji Trophy on Thursday. With a 169-run win over Vidarbha, the Ajinkya Rahane-led lifted the trophy. The fate of the final -- Mumbai's 48th in the 90 years of the tournament's history -- at the iconic Wankhede Stadium was sealed when the hosts set a 538-run target for the visiting team. Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar (102) and the unheralded Harsh Dubey (65) kept Mumbai at bay for the entire first session on the last day after Vidarbha resumed on 248 for five, needing another 290 runs to win.
The team was eventually bowled out for 368 in a contest that ebbed and flowed with Vidarbha frustrating the hosts for long periods of play on the last two days.
After the win, Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer could be seen dancing. He had made a crucial 95 for Mumbai in the final. Iyer suffered back spasms during his 95-run knock and had to be checked twice by the Mumbai team physio. He also did not take the field for Mumbai on Wednesday.
A report in Times of India claimed that Iyer may miss the initial matches of the IPL 2024 due to the back spasms. In 2023, Iyer underwent surgery due to the same injury and the recent development can rule him out of the first few matches of IPL 2024. “It is not looking good. It is the same back injury which has got aggravated. It is unlikely he will take the field on Day 5 of the Ranji Trophy final. He is in danger of missing the initial matches of the IPL,” a source told Times Of India in the report.
After the dance video went viral, several social media users asked about the status of his back pain .
Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer will seek medical advice after remaining off the field on the fifth and final day of the Ranji Trophy final, owing to an aggravated back injury.
Iyer, who struck an 111-ball 95 with 10 fours and three sixes, took on-field treatments on two separate instances here on the third day of the final against Vidarbha, having spent more than three hours in the middle.
"Iyer is injured," told a source in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) when asked about Iyer's absence from the field on the final day.
"He will have to seek medical advice for which he is likely to go on March 16." A team source after the play on Day Four had claimed that Iyer had recovered from the issue and would be back on the field on the final day but it did not turn out to be the case.
Iyer remained inside the confines of the dressing room and in the Mumbai training kit, only to be seen for the first time on Thursday after the domestic giant completed their 169-run win for their 42nd title win.
(With PTI Inputs)