Indore: They played their hearts out. And Indore made the heroes' homecoming just as 'hearty'.
The newly crowned Madhya Pradesh Ranji champs, who beat the more fancied Mumbai to give their state its first ever Ranji triumph, got a grand welcome in the city of Holkars. Fittingly, as it was the Holkar team that won the Ranji four times between 1944-45 and 1954-55 before the state of MP was formed.
After arriving at Indore airport from Bengaluru in the evening, head coach Chandrakant Pandit, skipper Aditya Shrivastava and the victorious MP team found a large group of sportspersons waiting to welcome them. Hockey athletes raised a stick salute for them as flowers rained down.
A carpet of flowers had been laid out for them till the team bus. Fans lined the streets as the bus carried them to Khajrana Temple, where the team had made a 'mannat' before heading off for the tournament that rewrote MP's cricket history. After praying there, the team headed for Holkar Stadium where MP Cricket Association (MPCA) had organized a grand reception.
"Many people wondered how a team that didn't have any star won the trophy. It's the teammates, showing extraordinary patience and putting forward great talent that ensured their splendid victory," MPCA president Abhilash Khandekar told a cheering gathering. The coach had given a befitting answer to those raising questions on his appointment, Khandekar added.
Chandrakant Pandit lauded his team and equated his relationship with team captain Aditya Shrivastava as 'father and son'. "What the father could not do, the son has done," he said.
The Dronacharya of domestic cricket talked about the team's planning meets and tense moments in the final match. The team had gone with only four main bowlers. Some players were not fully fit. "We were left with no fast bowler other than Rahul Batham. We had to gamble. Aditya was worried too," Pandit recalled.
"The team took up the challenge with spirit, and God blessed them," he added.
Captain Shrivastava later told reporters, "We learned how to work hard and make sacrifices, and that ensured our win."
Rajat Patidar, who scored a century in the final, said that every player knew his role and stuck to it. Shubham, who scored 116 runs and was the man of the match, said it was his best performance of life. "I am happy," he said.
As cricketers, coaches and management members smiled and shook hands during the ceremony, fans tried to sneak selfies.
The rousing homecoming was a taste of things to come as CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has promised a grand welcome for the team in Bhopal as well.
The team received a special message from aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. "Congratulations to MP Ranji Trophy team, captain Shrivastava and his entire team that have led MPCA back to its form of glory. It has taken us a long 68 years but this young team has stored MPCA's exalted place
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