A relentless bowling effort from Baroda helped them take a 76-run first innings lead against defending champions Mumbai on day two of their Ranji Trophy opener here on Saturday. Resuming their innings at 241 for six, Baroda were able to stretch their total to 290, a remarkable recovery from 90 for five. Off-spinner Tanush Kotian took four wickets for Mumbai. The title holders lost Prithiv Shaw early but Ayush Mathre (52 off 71) and Hardik Tamore (40 off 60) forged a 63-run stand for the second wicket.
At that time, Mumbai seemed to be in control but a combination of ordinary shot selection and misfortune saw them lose three quick wickets of Tamore, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (29 off 52) and Shreyas Iyer (0). Mumbai were all out for 214 in 62.2 overs close to stumps. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt (4/53), off-spinner Mahesh Pithiya (2/55) and left-arm pacer Akash Singh (3/19) landed the timely blows to give Baroda an upper hand in the contest.
Opener Mhatre was Bhatt’s first wicket as the batter was caught and bowled after mistiming a cross batted stroke.
Tamore was caught at short leg by Jyotsnil Singh off Pithiya for a regulation bat and pad dismissal.
Rahane looked good in the middle until a freak catch from Jyotsnil at silly point sent him back to the dressing room. Rahane firmly hit the ball towards the silly point field and the ball got stuck between the thighs of the fielder.
Iyer then failed to trouble the scorers as a faint outside edge of an away turning ball from Bhatt was pouched by the wicketkeeper. Iyer had also an ordinary Duleep Trophy where he failed to convert 50s on three occasions.
A lethal spell from left-arm pacer Akash Singh resulted in two wickets, reducing Mumbai to 185 for eight.
Shardul Thakur (27 off 39) and Mohit Avasthi (14) showed fight towards the end of the day. Like he often does, Shardul resorted to counter attack to put the pressure back on the opposition, a case in point being the six he hit off Krunal Pandya.
He was the last man to be dismissed, caught at deep mid-wicket off Akash.
In the second innings, Raj Limbani came out to bat for Baroda alongside Jyotsnil for two overs and survived.
Brief Scores:
Baroda 1st innings: 290 all out in 103.1 overs (Mitesh Patel 86, Atit Sheth 66 batting; Shams Mulani 3/111, Tanush Kotian 4/61) and 9/0 in 2 overs.
Mumbai 214 in 62.2 overs (Ayush Mhatre 52; Bhargav Bhatt 4/53, Mahesh Pithiya (2/55), Akash Singh (3/19).
In other Group A matches: In Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir 1st innings: 519 for 9 decl in 150 overs (Shubham Kathuria 255, Shivansh Sharma 106; Hitesh Walunj 4/143). Maharashtra 28/1 in 7 overs).
In Delhi: Services 1st innings: 402 all out in 132.4 overs (Ravi Chauhan 113, Rajat Paliwal 107; Aryan Bora 4/90). Services 119/5 in 41 overs.
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