Gurbani family remained rooted to the seat on tense Day 5

NAGPUR: At 8:45 in the morning, the parents of Rajneesh Gurbani got ready to witness the gripping final day of the historic semifinal on internet at their Vijay Nagar apartment. They were hoping for Vidarbha’s easy win over Karnataka on Day 5 to enter the Ranji Trophy final for the first time.
But the match took a surprising twist and made them anxious. The house witnessed a cathedral-like silence when Shreyas Gopal and Abhimanyu Mithun were batting.Divya, Rajneesh's mother, became edgy and did not move from her seat. Her husband Naresh remained silent.
The Gopal-Mithun duo added 48 runs in 46 balls for the ninth wicket and took Karnataka to a few shots away from the victory. The partnership shook the Gurbani couple but they had high hopes from their in-form 24-year-old son.
“I was jittery and never moved my eyes off the screen. Also, I remained in my seat without moving an inch. It was a tense morning and it certainly tested our nerves,” Divya, who is the headmistress in Baba Nanak Sindhi Hindi High School and Junior College, told TOI.
Naresh, too, had a similarly rush of feelings. “When Karnataka need just 5 runs, a boundary could have sealed Vidarbha’s fate. I was still in my chair as I was having a gut feeling that my son will do it when he got the ball in hand,” Naresh, who felt it would be a cakewalk for Vidarbha, described the feeling as the match went down to the wire.
And when Rajneesh ran in and bowled a fullish ball outside the off-stump that took the outside edge of S Arvind's bat and went into Apoorv Wankhade’s safe hands at gully, the Gurbani couple heaved a sigh of relief, finally, after 80 long minutes of an absorbing Day 5 contest.
“We greeted each other and the smile on Divya’s face summed up our happiness. It was just a brilliant show by the team. Rajneesh did well and justified the faith put on him by the team,” Naresh quipped.
“There was a flurry of calls from my friends based in various cities and it continued throughout the day. Around 50 guests and family members visited and congratulated us. I hope the team will replicate the performance in the final,” Naresh added.
Rajneesh's cousin Rohan, who is a national-level badminton player, said: “I am delighted that Rajneesh has emerged as the top performer in the semifinal. I hope he goes on to play for India one day,” he said.