Reason to smile: Sai Kishore, who picked up five wickets, obliges fans with selfies.
| Photo Credit: M. PERIASAMY
TNCA XI piled on the misery on Mumbai, dismissing the visitors for 156 in the first innings before going on to score 286 in its second essay on day three of the Buchi Babu tournament at the Sri Ramakrishna College Cricket Ground here on Thursday.
Chasing an improbable target of 510, Mumbai was six for no loss at stumps.
The home team has one foot in the semifinals, with three points all but sealed from this match (first-innings lead).
Mumbai captain Sarfaraz Khan, who could not bat due to illness on day two, came in at No. 10 alongside Divyansh Saxena (70, 199b, 8×4, 1×6).
However, Sai Kishore accounted for them both in no time, completing his five-wicket haul in the process.
There was no respite for Mumbai as the host chose to bat again and had a mammoth 142-run opening wicket partnership between S.R. Athish (57, 113b, 8×4) and S. Lokeshwar (73, 126b, 8×4).
Despite tweakers Shams Mulani (four for 73) and Tanush Kotian’s (five for 91) inspired show, Mumbai never got the upper hand as the damage was done in the first innings itself.
Suryakumar Yadav — who had bowled the final over before lunch — did not field in the later part of the innings after suffering a blow to his hand while fielding in the slips in the second session.
Miracles do happen in sport and Mumbai will need just that for a win and a place in the next stage.
The scores (round three, day three): TNCA XI 379 & 286 in 79.2 overs (Athish 57, Lokeshwar 73, Mokit 52, Mulani 4/73, Kotian 5/91) vs Mumbai 156 in 63.2 overs (Divyansh 70, Sai Kishore 5/36) & 6/0 in two overs.
