Mumbai beat Tamil Nadu by an innings and 70 runs to enter the final of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season on Monday. Led by the might of the lower-order batting at the BKC Ground, Mumbai posted 378 in their first innings in reply to Tamil Nadu's 146 after the visitors won the toss and bat first on the opening day. Mumbai were reeling at 106 for seven in pursuit with Tamil Nadu captain Sai Kishore jolting the middle-order with his 10th First-Class five-for. However, India international Shardul Thakur's counterattacking maiden FC hundred helped Mumbai take the lead before number 10 Tanush Kotian's unbeaten 89 bolstered the hosts' command. Kotian and Tushar Deshpande, who recorded a historic 232-run stand for the 10th wicket in the quarterfinal against Baroda, managed another gritty 88-run stand for the last wicket. The Tamil Nadu batters did not get going in the second innings either, with Thakur rocking the top order, dismissing openers Sai Sudharsan (5) and N Jagadeesan (0) early. Baba Indrajith offered some resistance with a 105-ball 70 before left-arm spinner Shams Mulani snapped up four wickets. The result marked Tamil Nadu's 17th defeat to Mumbai (Bombay) across 31 Ranji meetings. The win propelled Mumbai's (formerly Bombay) into a record-extending 48th Ranji Trophy final, having previously won the title for a record 41 times. Mumbai's last appearance in the final was in the 2022-23 season where they lost to Madhya Pradesh.