Inspired: Musheer mentioned he didn’t realise Tendulkar was in the stands until he bought to 60.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
Four months since watching Virat Kohli rating his document fiftieth ODI hundred in the World Cup semifinal, Sachin Tendulkar returned to the Wankhede Stadium president’s field on Tuesday morning for the third day’s opening session of the Ranji Trophy closing.
Soon after lunch, Musheer Khan, 19, turned the youngest Mumbai participant to attain a ton in a Ranji closing, pushing Tendulkar right down to the fourth in the checklist. While Tendulkar gave Musheer a standing ovation when he and Shreyas walked again throughout the lunch break, Musheer was thrilled to have Tendulkar in the gallery to look at him bat.
In truth, Musheer admitted that he realised Tendulkar was in the gallery nearly midway by means of the opening session. “I didn’t even know that Sachin Sir had come. Only when I got past 60, I saw Sachin Sir on the screen (at the stadium),” he mentioned.
Youngest century-makers in Ranji closing
Amit Sharma (18y 127d), Punjab vs Maharashtra, 1992-93
Musheer Khan (19y 14d), Mumbai vs Vidarbha, 2023-24
“That’s when I got the motivation that thodasa unko dikhana hai aaj batting karke (I have to impress him with my batting).”
Having scored 100 in every innings in the first Ranji closing he performed in 1994-95, Tendulkar undoubtedly is aware of the significance of the feat. No surprise then that Musheer – who turned the second-youngest centurion in a Ranji closing – was thrilled with scoring a ton in his maiden Ranji closing.
“I am very happy for scoring a century in the final. It was a dream for me to score a century in the Ranji Trophy final. We had a good partnership, we communicated well and (Iyer) bhai was insisting that we have to bat for a long period and take the game as far as we can.”
While Musheer had his father-cum-coach Naushad watching from the stands, one other household in the gallery was elated with their son’s feat. Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey picked his maiden five-wicket haul in FC cricket. “Being the first, that too in a Ranji final and with my family having come down to watch it makes it even more special,” Dubey mentioned.
