Always felt I left something back here 23 years ago: Chandrakant Pandit

After Rajat Patidar ran the most important single in the history of Madhya Pradesh cricket, it completed a cycle for head coach Pandit, 23 years after his failure to win the state side's maiden Ranji Trophy title as a player. "Every trophy gives satisfaction but this one is special. I couldn't do it as an MP captain years back (23 years). All these years, I have always felt that I had left something back over here. That's the reason I am a bit more excited and emotional about it," a visibly exhausted Pandit said after his latest Ranji Trophy triumph.

(PTI Photo)Pandit has seen heartbreaks as a player - his best Test knock of 39 came in the famous tied Test against Australia at Chepauk. Then, he was well set on 24 in the World Cup semi-final versus England at the Wankhede Stadium in 1987, but India lost the game. Or the gut-wrenching one-run defeat in the Ranji Trophy final against Kapil Dev's Haryana. But what had hurt him the most was that Ranji final for MP in 1999 when he was on his hunches sobbing inconsolably after being beaten by Karnataka. It was his last professional game and he had lost it. As a coach, he has turned the corner literally, with an unprecedented six Ranji Trophy titles.

Read AlsoMadhya Pradesh create history with maiden Ranji Trophy triumph, beat Mumbai by six wickets

Madhya Pradesh, not considered among cricketing elites during the past decade, on Sunday humbled domestic powerhouse Mumbai by six wickets in a one-sided Ranji Trophy final under coach Chandrakant Pandit, who exorcised the ghosts of losing one at this very ground 23 summers ago.

Pandit and Aditya Shrivastava, by the former's own admission, share a "special bond", which is beyond the professional coach-captain relationship. "To reach