Shardul Thakur remained at the forefront of the Mumbai attack as his hat-trick and unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Ajinkya Rahane (83) and Siddhesh Lad (89) helped the hosts build a 127-run lead against Meghalaya on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash in Mumbai on Thursday. Thakur found adequate help from another opening-day bowling-friendly surface as well as from fellow bowlers Mohit Avasthi (3/27), Sylvester D’Souza (2/14) and Shams Mulani (1/1) as Mumbai shot out Meghalaya for a mere 86.
In reply, a sturdy unbeaten 170-run stand for the third wicket between Rahane and Lad powered Mumbai to 213 for two at stumps in their must-win last group stage clash here at the BKC Ground.
Mumbai captain Rahane made the right call of bowling first and Thakur was all over Meghalaya right from the word go.
Pitching the ball up to exploit the early moisture on the wicket and the new ball, the India all-rounder found the perfect line and lengths to record only the fifth hat-trick for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy history.
Thakur provided Mumbai with an early breakthrough getting Meghalaya opener Nishanta Chakraborty (0) caught by Shams Mulani at the slip cordon on the fourth ball of the innings.
But it was in his second over and third of the innings when the carnage unfolded for Meghalaya, who slipped for 2/5 by the end of it.
Anirudh B (0) was cleaned up with Thakur’s delivery nipping back in and hitting the off-stump on the fourth ball.
Sumit Kumar (0) gave a simple grab to Mulani on the third slip on the penultimate delivery of the over and Thakur again got the ball to move back into another left-hander, Jaskirat Sachdeva (0), to hit the off-stump again.
Meghalaya soon slipped to 2/6 on the first ball of the fourth over as Mohit Avasthi cleaned up opener Arpit Subhas (2), in danger to possibly record the lowest Ranji Trophy total ever.
But Pringsang Sangma (19), skipper Akash Kumar (16), Anish Charak (17) and Himan Phukan (28) did extremely well to negotiate the rampaging Mumbai bowlers and drag Meghalaya as far as 86 all-out in the first essay.
Mumbai lost Ayush Mhatre (5) early but a cautious approach thereon helped the hosts crawl past Meghalaya’s paltry score, but in doing so the hosts’ batters Lad (89 off 155 balls, 11x4s, 1x6s) and Rahane (83 off 150, 9x4s, 1x6s) took away the fight from the less fancied visitors.
If Lad was resolute in defence and attack alike, Rahane raised his first half-century of the season while peppering the on-side with attractive stroke play which was the highlight of his knock.
Meanwhile, as Mumbai tightened screws on Meghalaya, their star player and India captain Rohit Sharma hit the nets adjacent to the BKC Ground on Thursday morning for a half-an-hour session against fast bowlers and throw down specialists.
As if it was a conscious approach, Rohit curbed his attacking instincts throughout the stint to focus on defence against the white-ball as he prepares for ODI assignments against England and Champions Trophy.
At Vadodara, fresh off a five-wicket humbling of the defending champions Mumbai, Jammu and Kashmir seemed to have squandered a solid platform as they slipped from 106 for three to 246 all-out with only Kanhaiya Wadhawan (71) putting up resistance.
But in reply, Baroda were rocked twice as they reached 29 for two, trailing by another 217 runs in the first innings as the race to quarterfinals intensifying with three teams in fray for top-two finish.
J&K lead the Group A points table followed by Baroda and Mumbai at second and third respectively.
At Cuttack, Rajesh Mohanty’s 61-ball 60 with eight fours and four boundaries was the only bright spot for hosts Odisha who were shot out for a mere 180 in the first essay by Services.
At the close of play, Services, who were rocked twice in quick succession, reached 85 for two, trailing by another 95 runs in the first innings.
Elsewhere in Solapur, visitors Tripura crawled to 230/5 against Maharashtra.
Brief scores: At Mumbai: Meghalaya 86 in 24.3 overs (Himan Phukan 28; Shardul Thakur 4/43, Mohit Avasthi 3/27, Sylvester D’Souza 2/14, Shams Mulani 1/1) trail Mumbai 213/2 in 59 overs (Siddhesh Lad 89*, Ajinkya Rahane 83*; Anish Charak 1/50) by 127 runs.
At Vadodara: Jammu and Kashmir 246 in 71.3 overs (Vivrant Sharma 43, Paras Dogra 43, Kanhaiya Wadhwan 71; Mahesh Pithiya 3/62, Ninad Rathva 5/43) lead Baroda 29/2 in 15.3 overs (Shivalik Sharma 16*; Sahil Lotra 1/5, Shubham Khajuria 0/1) by 217 runs.
At Cuttack: Odisha 180 in 62.2 overs (Rajesh Mohanty 60; Jayant Goyat 3/33, PS Poonia 4/33) lead Services 85/2 in 23 overs (Ravi Chauhan 40*; Sunil Kumar Roul 1/20) by 95 runs.
At Solapur: Tripura 230/5 in 89 overs (S Sharath 66*; Hitesh Walunj 3/59) vs Maharashtra.
Gaja, Jayswal shine as Gujarat bowl out Himachal for 215 in must-win Ranjit match
Gujarat captain Chintan Gaja and spinner Vishal Jayswal shared seven wickets between them to bowl out Himachal Pradesh for 215 on the opening day of their must-win Ranji Trophy Group B match in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
With both teams vying for the second quarterfinal spot from the group, Gujarat’s bowlers were on the mark, wrapping up Himachal’s first innings in just 66.3 overs after opting to bowl.
Leading from the front, Gaja delivered a stellar spell of medium pace, claiming 4/31 at an impressive economy rate of 1.77. He accounted for both the openers before taking the crucial wicket of rival skipper Rishi Dhawan (40) Left-arm spinner Jayswal also made a strong impact, finishing with figures of 3/23 in just eight overs.
Despite several Himachal batters getting promising starts, they failed to convert them into substantial scores. Ankit Kalsi (53) and Dhawan provided the only real resistance, but their efforts weren’t enough to push their side to a bigger total.
Himachal, however, struck back with the ball, making early inroads into Gujarat’s top order. Spinners Mayanak Dagar and Mukul Negi removed openers Aditya Patel (19) and Aarya Desai (8) At stumps, Gujarat were 44/2, trailing by 171 runs, as both teams fought fiercely for the final quarterfinal spot.
Vidarbha struggle as Hyderabad bowlers dominate
In Nagpur, two-time champions Vidarbha — who have already secured their quarterfinal berth — were put on the back foot as Hyderabad bowled them out for just 190 in 55.5 overs.
Pacer Rakshan Readdi (3/29) and Chama Milind (2/46) dismantled the Vidarbha top order before left-arm spinner Anikethreddy (3/54) ran through the middle order.
All-rounder Harsh Dubey fought a lone battle with a counterattacking 65 off 46 balls.
In response, Hyderabad put up a solid batting display, reaching 90/2 at stumps. Opener Tanmay Agarwal remained unbeaten on 53, with Kodimela Himateja keeping him company.
Rajasthan’s Tomar falls short of a century, Andhra start strong
In Vizianagaram, Abhijeet Tomar (94) and Manav Suthar (54) guided Rajasthan to 258 before spinner Tripurana Vijay registered career-best innings figures of 5/62.
Andhra made a solid start in reply, finishing the day at 49/0.
Kale’s unbeaten 93 helps Puducherry end day on a strong note
Meanwhile, in Puducherry, Mohit Kale’s unbeaten 93 helped the hosts reach 246/7 against Uttarakhand, despite Deepak Dhapola’s impressive 4/29.
Brief Scores: In Ahmedabad: Himachal Pradesh 215 all out in 66.3 overs (Ankit Kalsi 53, Rishi Dhawan 40; Chinatan Gaja 4/31, Vishal Jayswal 3/23) lead Gujarat 44 for 2 in 21 overs ( Aditya Patel 19, Manan Hingrajia 13 not out; Mayank Dagar 1/5, Mukul Negi 1/160 by 171 runs.
In Nagpur: Vidarbha 190 all out in 55.5 overs (Harsh dubey 65; Rakshan Readdi 3/29, Anikrthreddy 3/54) lead Hyderabad 90 for 2 in 29 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 53 not out, Abhirath Reddy 20; Akshay Wakhare 1/21) In Vizianagaram: Rajasthan 258 all out in 79.5 overs (Abhijeet Tomar 94, Manav Suthar 54; Tripurana Vijay 5/62) lead Andhra 49/0 in 8 overs (S Bharat 26 not out; Khaleel Ahmed 0/10).
In Puduchery: Puducherry 246 for 7 on 89.1 overs (Mohit Kale 93 not out; Deepak Dhapola 4/29) vs Uttarakhand.
Topics mentioned in this article
