A to Z of lion-crested centurions

Ajinkya Rahane would be the first to admit that he would have liked to have more than just two 50plus scores in the Ranji season A hundred in the final would have been the icing on the cakeBahutule who scored a hundred to trouble Punjab in the 199495 final along with Sachin Tendulkar With his legspin Sairaj sent back centurions NS Sidhu and Vikram Rathour in Punjabrsquos first inningsCricket Club of India where Mumbai batsmen relished plundering hundreds in Ranji finals till Wankhede became the principal venueDesai better known for his fast bowling came in as night watchman on the first day of the 196263 final against Rajasthan at Jaipur Ramakant posted his maiden Ranji hundred the following day Eknath Solkar who scored four hundreds in Ranji cricket led Mumbai in the 198081 final in which a massive 265 came from his Mafatlal colleague Ashok Mankad a wily skipper himselfFun Thatrsquos what the centuries gave Mumbai spectators as their heroes won the title year after year from 195859 to 197273Gavaskar He scored four centuries in Ranji finals and a near hundred 96 not out against Karnataka at the Wankhede Stadium in 197475 scored with a painfulfingerHoshie Amroliwalarsquos first century in the national championships was scored in adversity With half the side in the Brabourne dressing room on the first morning on the 195859 final against Bengal India Thatrsquos the team which Mumbai captain Madhav Mantri got picked for after his 94 and 152 for Mumbai against CK Nayudursquos Holkar in the 195152 finalJaffer Three hundreds in Ranji Trophy finals for a winning cause is only one of the many reasons why Wasim is nothing short of a modern Mumbai greatKambli Vinod 107 not out was part of the quartet Dighe 137 Manjrekar 224 Tendulkar 140 being the others who had threefigure scores in the first innings v Punjab during the 199495 finalLalchand Rajput was Dilip Vengsarkarrsquos runner in the 199091 Mumbai v Haryana final at Wankhede where the Lord of Lordrsquos scored one of his finest domestic hundredsMuzumdar Amol scored runs by the ton for Mumbai But hersquod put his century in the 199697 final against Delhi at Gwalior and the one against Tamil Nadu at Chepauk in 200304 right up there among the bestNadkarni hit up three centuries in a Mumbai cap in the 196263 196465 and 196566 finals Super BapuOutplayed Thatrsquos what Mumbai did to a lot of the 41 teams they came up against in Ranji finalsParkar Ramnathrsquos 108 in the 197071 final at CCI played a big part in Mumbairsquos winQuit Thatrsquos what GS Ramchand did after his century helped Mumbai beat Rajasthan in the 196263 final at JaipurRamchand India allrounder Gulabrai loved performing in finals for Mumbai He scored five consecutive tons in 195152 195960 196061 196162 and 196263Sardesai Stalwart Dilip was dismissed by legspinner CG Joshi for 99 in the 196566 final The following seasonrsquos finale saw him depart for 199 off the same bowlerTendulkar The youngest Mumbai player before 19yearold Musheer Khan to score a hundred in a Ranji final Sachin scored four hundreds in finals including two in the 199495 finale v PunjabUmrigar served Mumbai cricket with distinction as a player selector and administrator Polly Kakarsquos ton in the 195556 final against Bengal was worth its weight in gold ndash 112 out of 306 a performance which resulted in an eightwicket winVengsarkar He would have scored a good amount of final hundreds had he not been on India duty His 123 v Delhi in the 198384 final was another gem for the season after his two Test hundreds against the West IndiesWadekar Super captain Ajit scored three centuries in 11 finals mdash 255 v Rajasthan in 196162 185 v Rajasthan in 196566 and 133 v Bengal in 196869Xavierrsquos College teammates Ashok Mankad and Sunil Gavaskar put the Rajasthan attack to sword in the 196970 final The duo put on 279 for the first wicket which was more than what their opponents scored in their first inningsYatin Rele smashed an unbeaten 162 in Mumbairsquos only innings in the 195657 final against the Services The next best score was Naren Tamhanersquos 66Zeroes Thatrsquos what Mumbai batsmen Madhav Apte and Ramnath Kenny had against their names before they made amends by smashing hundreds in the second innings in Mumbairsquos victory over Bengal in the 195859 finalmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper