Reduced to 86 for three on a bouncy pitch, Mumbai staged a remarkable recovery, thanks mainly to Nayar’s gritty display and his two significant partnerships with Onkar Khanvilkar (70 off 115 balls; 4X8) and Ajit Agarkar (57 batting off 84 balls; 4X9).
At stumps, the 38-time champions were at a sound 329 for four in 83 overs which looked a distant dream when they had lost their top three batsmen, including skipper Wasim Jaffer, by the 25th over in an extended first session.
Nayar added a valuable 145 runs for the fourth wicket with another left-handed batsman Khanvilkar off 221 balls to steady the rocking boat on either side of lunch and then put on another 98 runs during a breezy, unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with the free-stroking Agarkar to consolidate the innings.
Towards close, Nayar, who missed Mumbai’s last three games due to a hand injury, suffered cramps in the right hand but his partnership with Agarkar, which produced a near-century stand in only 105 minutes, has swung the match towards the hosts.
Score Board
MUMBAI (I Innings): S Kukreja c Bisht b Awana 29, W Jaffer lbw I Sharma 7, A Rahane b I Sharma 29, O Khanvilkar st Bisht b Bhatia 70, A Nayar (batting) 111, A Agarkar (batting) 57. Extras: (B-13, LB-3, NB-9, W-1) 26. Total (for 4 wkts in 83 overs) 329.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-56, 3-86, 4-231.
Bowling: P Sangwan 17-4-61-0, I Sharma 16-2-48-2, P Awana 16-3-54-1, V Mishra 14-3-57-0, R Bhatia 8-0-33-1, M Manhas 11-0-56-0, A Jain 1-0-4-0.
