Coach Chandrakant Pandit's reaction had Rajneesh Gurbani in tears

Rajneesh Gurbani’s match-winning seven-wicket haul helped Vidarbha beat Karnataka by five runs in a thrilling semi-final. Gurbani, who had a match haul of 12 wickets, was in tears when he saw his side beating Karnataka to enter the finals. It was coach Chandrakant Pandit’s reaction because of which Gurbani’s eyes welled up.

Personally, for former India stumper Pandit, it was also a statement to Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which sacked him from coach’s post despite the team reaching finals last year.

The moment after the last wicket

“I got quite emotional after getting the final wicket and saw Chandu sir’s (Chandrakant Pandit) reaction tears came into my eyes. We have been following the same routine from the first match we played in the league stage against Punjab till today,” said Gurbani, as reported by Sportskeeda.

The night before the final day, he had performance anxiety throughout as he could barely sleep. It was natural considering that the turn of events on Day 5 would determine if Vidarbha make it to their maiden Ranji final.

“I was quite nervous all throughout the night, first woke up at 12:30 thought it was 6 am, again I woke up at 4:30 couldn’t sleep any more got up at 5 am and got ready within 6. We were determined to reach the finals this year after having lost in the quarter-finals twice,” said Gurbani.

There were two specific phases when Karnataka had partnerships going and he admitted that he was getting restless.

“When I went to the ground, coach sir motivated me and calmed my nerves somewhat. On the field, when wickets were not coming, I was feeling a bit restless and then my captain, senior teammates and Chandu sir told me to calm down,” he added.

When around 14 runs were left, Gurbani thought rather than worrying he will now wait for batsmen to make mistakes. And finally, the promising pacer was rewarded for consistently finding seam movement with 12 wickets in the match. “Since wicket was not falling, I decided not to worry and left it to the batsmen to make a mistake.”

Dream come true

On opening the bowling alongside Umesh Yadav, he mentioned that his dream came true. Eventually, he overshadowed his illustrious new ball partner.

“The presence of Umesh Yadav was a big help for me and it was my dream to open the bowling with Umesh bhaiya. From one end, he was bowling fast and watching him bowl, I was feeling very relaxed. Umesh Yadav is my idol and he is my favourite fast bowler,” he further stated.

Vidarbha will now meet Delhi in the summit clash of the tournament in Indore on December 29.