Coach Parmar thrilled with Baroda’s ‘confidence-boosting’ win against Mumbai

Baroda's historic Ranji Trophy win over Mumbai led by Krunal Pandya impresses selectors and coach, boosting team confidence.

The last time Baroda beat Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, Yogendra Wakaskar, the new-ball bowler, had starred with a nine-wicket match haul at the Wankhede Stadium in 1998-99. A bespectacled Wakaskar – now a member of the senior selection panel – was as thrilled as anyone else present at the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium on Monday morning.

While Wakaskar went on a trip down memory lane, he along with his two other colleagues present at the venue – chief selector Prayan Dave and Umang Patel, were thrilled with the manner in which Krunal Pandya led the team to a memorable win against the 42-time champion.

The celebrations filtered into the Baroda dressing room as well. Mukund Parmar, the head coach who was a Gujarat stalwart for two decades, was thrilled to have been involved in his first win against Mumbai. Let alone going on a nostalgic trip, the veteran coach also refrained from billing the 84-run win as revenge of last year’s quarterfinal exit in Mumbai.

“It is not revenge and all. What’s past is past,” Parmar said. “It obviously gives a huge fillip to the confidence of the bunch to have started the season by beating the defending Ranji and Irani champion and the domestic giant in a convincing manner. Our skill-sets have never been in question. I am delighted with the manner in which the boys bounced back when put under pressure.”

Mumbai had an opportunity to tighten the noose around Baroda in both of the home team’s batting essays. Baroda put on a sizeable 290 on a turner after being reduced to 90 for five in the first innings. And in the second, from 41 for six, the last four wickets added 144 runs to take the game away from Mumbai.

“We created opportunities but the 130-run partnership in the first innings (between Mitesh Patel and Atit Sheth) turned out to be decisive. Baroda obviously played better cricket than us overall. I just hope it’s a learning lesson for our spinners. I am confident we will continue to improve as a team,” Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane told The Hindu.