Ranji Trophy final: Chandrakant Pandit finds redemption at Chinnaswamy Stadium

Madhya Pradesh when his team beat Mumbai by six wickets in the final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium must have felt the closest to his heart. Twenty-three years ago, it was at this venue when Pandit, playing his last First-Class match, suffered a heartbreak, failing to achieve his 'MP' dream by a whisker. Chasing 247 on the last day of the 1998-99 Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka, MP, led by the former India stumper, collapsed to 150 from 108-3, with Vijay Bhardwaj taking six for 24.

Read AlsoMadhya Pradesh beat Mumbai by 6 wickets in Ranji Trophy final to end long wait for domestic title

Redemption comes to those who wait, and for Madhya Pradesh, it was a long-drawn one that spanned 23 years. When they laid hands on their maiden Ranji Trophy, they did it in some style against an opposition that fought and threatened until the last session on the final day.

It was perhaps why he was drowned in emotion while soaking in the accolades once MP clinched their maiden title. Soon, he did a 'count of three' with his players, in which he yelled 'who are the champions,' to which his players responded: 'Madhya Pradesh.' A few moments later, he was talking to two former Karnataka bowlers who were a part of that final - national selector Sunil Joshi and Mumbai selector Anand Yalvigi. For all his achievements as a celebrated coach in domestic cricket, Pandit had some unfinished business left. On a pleasant Sunday afternoon here, he finally found redemption at Chinnaswamy. "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. I had lost the match back then and I always felt that I had to give