Tushar Deshpande cleaned up Pondicherry’s tail as Mumbai needed less than an hour on Wednesday to clinch its second outright win, complete with a bonus point, in a Ranji Trophy Group D fixture.
Resuming at 231 for six, Pondicherry managed only 45 more runs before Deshpande and Shardul Thakur wrapped things up, sealing an innings-and-222-run victory.
As the city woke to a nip in the air, Deshpande (3 for 32) made full use of the early conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, removing Sidhaant Aadhhatrao in his opening over.
Local boy Sidhaant, who had scored his maiden First Class fifty the previous day, added only three to his overnight tally before Sarfaraz Khan held on at second slip.
Deshpande struck again in his next over. Pondicherry captain Sagar Udeshi, looking to score quickly on familiar Mumbai turf, where he has played enough club cricket, lasted only a run before Sarfaraz sprinted back from the ring to take a catch near third-man.
Shardul then cleaned up Sabhay Chadha. With the senior batters gone, the experienced Jayant Yadav fought a lone battle. At a venue where he scored his maiden Test century against England in 2016, Jayant struck five boundaries and resisted for a while before falling to Ayush Mhatre, with Sarfaraz taking his third catch of the morning, this time at first slip.
After Aman Khan and Sidhaant had led a brief recovery on the third day, there was an expectation that the lower order might offer some fight. Instead, Deshpande’s stump-to-stump discipline ensured Pondicherry folded within 8.3 overs.
Mumbai, coming off a bonus-point win over Himachal Pradesh, wanted to close the first leg of the tournament strongly. Another controlled performance with the ball has pushed the domestic heavyweight to the top of the points table.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: 630 for 5 (decl).
Pondicherry — 1st innings: 132.
Pondicherry — 2nd innings: Neyan Kangayan lbw b Kotian 42, Ajay Rohera c Sarfaraz b Deshpande 0, Paras Ratnaparkhe c Akash b Shardul 1, Mohit Kale c (sub) Patil b Mulani 35, Anand Singh Bais c Deshpande b Mulani 8, Sidhaant Aadhhatrao c Sarfaraz b Deshpande 54, Aman Khan b Musheer 86, Jayant Yadav c Sarfaraz b Mhatre 32, Sagar Udeshi c Sarfaraz b Deshpande 1, Sabhay Chadha b Shardul 4, Abin Mathew (not out) 4; Extras: (lb-5, b-4,) 9; Total (in 53.3 overs) 276.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 3-2, 3-69, 4-85, 5-91, 6-228, 7-236, 8-248, 9-253.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul 8-0-24-2, Deshpande 7-1-32-3, Avasthi 6-0-29-0, Mulani 17-3-67-2, Kotian 10-1-70-1, Musheer 4-0-36-1, Mhatre 1.3-0-9-1.
Published – November 20, 2025 12:10 am IST
