Dilip Vengsarkar slams Mumbai poor fielding after Ranji Trophy exit

Former Mumbai and India captain and Mumbai Cricket Associationrsquos Cricket Advisor Dilip Vengsarkar has expressed his disappointment as Mumbai were knocked out by Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the MCABKC ground on MondayThe defeat ensured the 42time Ranji champions finished trophyless this season In December defending champions Mumbai had failed to progress from the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in Pune Thereafter Mumbai lost to Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarters by 55 runs in Bengaluru last monthMumbai skipper Shardul Thakur kicks out in frustration as Karnatakarsquos KL Rahul is dropped at slip during the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal on MondayldquoI feel we were on the verge of winning Ranji Trophy for the 43rd time but it was not to be And when we look into what went wrong one of the first things that come to mind is poor fielding and poor catchingrdquo Vengsarkar who played in four Ranjiwinning seasons for Mumbai told middayA day earlier Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur had also blamed dropped catches for the quarterfinal defeat in the Ranji Trophy after the beneficiary of the dropped catches Karnatakarsquos India batter KL Rahul scored 130ldquoWhen yoursquore playing for Mumbai you have to give your life for the team Your commitment and application has to be 100 per cent You must have that killer instinct which Mumbai teams have been famous for It was a disappointing performance especially against Karnataka Of course Karnataka are a good team chasing 325 in the fourth innings on that wicket was tough But the unfortunate part is that we dropped catches If you drop catches you donrsquot expect to win You have to convert those halfchances Also you cannot afford to drop your shoulders because just one wicket one breakthrough and the floodgates can open The unfortunate part is that this entire season we have dropped a lot of catches and the team management has to look into thisrdquo added Vengsarkar a specialist slip fielder in his playing daysDilip VengsarkarOne specific dropped catch that merits a mention is when Rahul was on 75 on Day 4 in the second innings and edged Thakur to the slips The ball was heading towards Yashasvi Jaiswal at first slip but Siddhesh Lad dived to his left from second slip for a singledhanded effort and failed to hold on Karnataka were 1423 at this stage needing another 183 to winWhen asked if batting failure was also a reason Vengsarkar replied ldquoYes but later the team got settled Siddhesh Lad played an important role in the middle order The unfortunate part is that Sarfaraz Khan did not play in the last game due to fever His absence was definitely felt Ajinkya Rahane also opted out in the middle of the season which is unfortunate I had not expected him to do thatrdquo2020The last time Mumbai failed to reach a single final in the domestic season2022The last time Mumbai failed to win any silverware in a domestic seasonFourNo of domestic titles won by Mumbai in the last four years mdash Ranji Trophy in 2024 Irani Cup in 2025 and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in 2023and 2025Where Mumbai fell short this seasonRanji TrophyBatting failure was one of the major reasons for Mumbairsquos quarterfinal exit because only Siddhesh Lad managed to score 774 runs with the help of five centuries Mumbairsquos 2nd top rungetter was Musheer Khan who scored 446 with the help of one century On the bowling front only leftarm spinner Shams Mulani 30 scalps in 7 games pacers Tushar Deshpande 25 in 8 ties and Mohit Avasthi 14 in 4 matches showed some consistencyVijay Hazare Trophy 50over formatMumbai who lost to Karnataka in the quarterfinal failed to get the perfect winning combination in the tournament with as many as 22 players getting a look in Though Mumbai got India batters Rohit Sharma Suryakumar Yadav Shreyas Iyer Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube for a few games the team struggled to settle due to the frequent changesSyed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 formatThe defending champions relied more on individual brilliance than team performance here The youngsters failed to capitalise on the opportunities throughout the tournament and the team exited in the Super League stage