Published: Jan 13, 2017, 11:50 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 13, 2017, 04:49 PM (IST)
Gujarat pacer RP Singh reached a personal milestone in his career when he completed 300 First-Class wickets on Day Four of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 final against Mumbai being played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. He got to the landmark when he dismissed Siddhesh Lad in Mumbai’s second innings. Chirag Gandhi played a part in RP Singh getting to his milestone as he caught the batsman at deep square leg. RP had started the Ranji final with 297 career wickets and added 2 to his tally in the first innings of the match, where he had dismissed Akhil Herwadkar and Lad. The left-arm bowler, who has 40 wickets from the 14 Tests he has played for India, also has 69 ODI and 15 T20I wickets.
RP Singh could not have achieved the feat at a more opportune time, as it came in the Ranji Trophy final. His side Gujarat has made it to the final of the premier tournament only for the second time in its history, and for the first time in 66 years. RP, who earlier used to play for his home state of Uttar Pradesh, has played a key role in Gujarat’s successful campaign this year and his coach and teammates acknowledge the same.
LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Mumbai vs Gujarat, Final, Day 4
Praising the senior player, RP’s teammate Manprit Juneja had called him a ‘great guide’ for young bowlers in the side earlier after the play on Day One of the final. “He has been magnificent. In fact, he has been leading from the front. The thing with having a person like RP in the team is that it is very good the youngsters, as they get good guidance as to they can adapt to the situations and on different wickets. He is always there on the mid-on or mid-off guiding the bowlers. He has done a terrific job for us and our young bowlers especially.” Manprit had said of the bowler who has taken 14 wickets in 4 games this season before this match — 9 of which came in the semi-final against Jharkhand.
| Contest | Team | B | R | W | Ave | SR | Econ |
| Tests | India | 2,534 | 1,682 | 40 | 42.05 | 63.4 | 3.98 |
| A matches | India A | 778 | 411 | 8 | 51.38 | 97.3 | 3.17 |
| Tour matches | Indians | 174 | 94 | 3 | 31.33 | 58.0 | 3.24 |
| Tour matches | Board President’s XI | 108 | 67 | 1 | 67.00 | 108.0 | 3.72 |
| County | Leicestershire | 364 | 250 | 8 | 31.25 | 45.5 | 4.12 |
| Ranji Trophy | Uttar Pradesh | 10,036 | 5,066 | 183 | 27.68 | 54.8 | 3.03 |
| Ranji Trophy | Gujarat | 1,826 | 893 | 35 | 25.51 | 52.2 | 2.93 |
| Irani Trophy | Rest of India | 300 | 148 | 1 | 148.00 | 300.0 | 2.96 |
| Duleep Trophy | Central Zone | 1,072 | 591 | 22 | 26.86 | 48.7 | 3.31 |
| 17192 | 9202 | 301 | 30.57 | 57.1 | 3.21 |
Gujarat need RP’s experience the most at the moment with the Ranji final poised evenly. Though they took the vital first-innings lead, the match is still far from being over with Mumbai reclaiming the advantage. If Gujarat have to win their maiden Ranji title, RP’s going to hold the key.
