‘Greatest day in India’s domestic cricket history’: Vengsarkar revisits the 1991 Ranji Trophy final
Mumbai: May 7, 2026, marked exactly 35 years since one of the greatest Ranji Trophy finals ever played. On this day in the 1990-91 Ranji Trophy season, Haryana, led by India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, stunned heavyweight Mumbai by just two runs at the Wankhede Stadium to lift their maiden Ranji Trophy title. For those raised on IPL thrillers, this was a domestic classic that went right down to the final ball on Day 5. The match, telecast live on Doordarshan Sports, is still remembered for its dramatic twists and high-quality cricket, though the broadcaster later deleted the footage. Played from May 3-7, 1991, the final saw Haryana post 507 in the first innings, powered by Deepak Sharma’s 199 and Chetan Sharma’s remarkable 98 from No. 9. Mumbai replied with 410, despite Sanjay Patil top-scoring with 85 and Lalchand Rajput making 74. Kapil Dev took three for 54, while Yogendra Bhandari claimed five wickets. Mumbai then bowled Haryana out for 242, leaving themselves 355 to win in 67 overs. However, they slipped to 35 for three at lunch on the final day, with Rajput, Shishir Hattangadi and Sanjay Manjrekar dismissed by the Kapil-Chetan combination. What followed remains one of the most memorable partnerships in Indian domestic cricket. Dilip Vengsarkar and a teenage Sachin Tendulkar added 134 runs for the fourth wicket to drag Mumbai back into the contest. Vengsarkar remained unbeaten on 139, while Tendulkar smashed a brilliant 96 off just 75 balls. “If we hadn’t grassed as many as seven catches, Haryana wouldn’t have scored 522 in the first innings. If Tendulkar had stayed for even five more overs, we would have been through. I don’t recall having seen a better knock from him in domestic cricket,” Vengsarkar told TOI on Thursday. Despite the heartbreak, Vengsarkar still considers it a landmark day in Indian domestic cricket. “It is the greatest day ever in India’s domestic cricket history. I don’t recall any instance of a packed crowd on the final day of a Ranji Trophy final ever at the Wankhede after that. In fact, nowadays you hardly see any crowds for the Ranji Trophy,” he said. At Vengsarkar’s stand-naming ceremony at the Wankhede in 2021, Tendulkar had emotionally recalled the impact the defeat had on him. “We lost the final by just two runs on the last day. Abey Kuruvilla got run out. Vengsarkar scored an unbeaten century [139]. I will never forget Vengsarkar’s reaction after the match while walking towards the dressing room. I saw tears in his eyes. In the dressing room, he sat and covered his head with a towel for some time. I realised then what commitment and passion, what the khadoosness of Mumbai cricket, meant. He had already played more than 100 Tests, he was such a big cricketer, still he was playing for Mumbai and had tears in his eyes after Mumbai’s loss. I just felt that the stand [Dilip Vengsarkar Stand] which we are seeing now named after him, is a tribute to those tears,” Tendulkar remarked. Kapil Dev later described it as “the greatest match of my life.” Former Mumbai all-rounder Sanjay Patil, now Mumbai’s senior team chief selector, also recalled the extraordinary commitment shown by players in that era while speaking to TOI. “It feels great that it’s been exactly 35 years since the greatest match of my life. I was on the field for all five days. I shouldn’t have been playing that game in the first place, as I had fractured a finger in my left (bowling) hand in the quarterfinal against Delhi after being struck by a Manoj Prabhakar beamer, and was told by our MCA doctor Arun Samshir to take a seven-week rest from the game. However, my captain Sanjay Manjrekar asked me to play in the semifinal against Hyderabad, so I forgot about my injury.” “A couple of days after the semis was the final. Forgetting that my finger was fractured, I bowled 50.3 overs in the first innings. Then, at 4.15 pm, Hattangadi was out, and suddenly, just as I was looking to take some rest, I was asked to go in as the nightwatchman. Somehow, I got ready, with our 12th man Sameer Dighe helping me put on my pads. In the hurry, I even forgot to wear my guard and was to face Kapil! However, I’m proud to say that even as a No. 10 batsman, in a star-studded batting line-up which had Tendulkar at No. 5 and Vinod Kambli at No. 6, I ended up top-scoring with 85! In the second innings, I bowled 34 overs, taking three for 65.” It should have been Vengsarkar’s final season for Mumbai. The former India captain revealed that he had initially planned to retire after the 1991-92 Australia tour, but was persuaded by former India opener Sudhir Naik to continue playing in the Ranji Trophy knockouts for Mumbai. Vengsarkar responded with a memorable 284 in the quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium before eventually playing his final match for Mumbai in the semifinal defeat to Delhi — another example of the commitment and loyalty shown towards Mumbai cricket by players of that era.
