JOIN USThe sight of Abhishek Nayar walking in after the fall of Wilkin Mota was quite hard to believe. The Mumbaikar was advised two weeks of rest after suffering a concussive head injury while fielding here a couple of days ago.
The left-hander’s struggle was quite evident. But he never gave in, and negotiated Karnataka bowlers for 51 minutes and 41 balls. It, perhaps, reflected Mumbai’s desire to stay in the game and make one final push for an unlikely win after a sub-par effort in the first innings.
After an intense struggle, Mumbai reached 277 for six at stumps on day three of the Ranji Trophy semifinal match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Now, they require 168 runs on the fourth day to script one of the more remarkable wins in Indian domestic history. But despite Mumbai’s unbending will, Karnataka might consider themselves standing closer to a victory, requiring just four more wickets.
Mumbai started the day at 61 for no loss, and Karnataka might have been expecting them to crumble under the pressure of chasing 445. But it didn’t happen that way. True to their tradition, Mumbai fought hard. They never appeared frightened by the task of chasing a massive target. If anything, Karnataka seemed overtly anxious at times.
They had an early success when Abhimanyu Mithun trapped opener Akhil Herwadkar in front of the wicket in the fifth over of the day. But skipper Aditya Tare, who made a valiant 98, and Shreyas Iyer, who made an even 50, kept the Karnataka bowlers at bay for a large part of the first session.
Once their expectations of some quick breakthroughs went up in smoke, the Karnataka camp began to grow impatient. They resorted to frequent bowling changes and constant shuffling of fielders in their bid to purchase some wickets. Mumbai cashed in on this unsettlement in opposition ranks well. They racked up 105 runs in the opening session and 56 of them came in boundaries. The dropped catch of Shreyas too added to the home side’s woes. Robin Uthappa, who donned the stumper’s role for the second straight day after an injured CM Gautam stayed away from the field, spilled a rather easy chance off Mithun to give Shreyas a reprieve even before he opened the account.
That lone blemish apart, the two Mumbai batsmen had complete control over the proceedings. Tare, who was reprimanded by match referee Narayan Kutty for his comments on umpiring, was impressive in particular, showing a willingness to soak up the pressure. The right-hander had begun his innings in an urgent fashion the previous day, but he was more circumspect on the day, allowing Shreyas to go for his shots.
The strategy was clear. Tare would be the rock around which Mumbai’s foray was to be built. But a moment of recklessness ended that promising 76-run stand for the second wicket. Shreyas tried to pull Mithun’s short-pitched delivery but only managed a tame top edge to substitute J Suchith at short mid-wicket.
From the Mumbai point of view, the unkindest cut came when Tare had to walk back after edging S Arvind to Uthappa, just two runs short of a richly deserved ton. His wicket infused a fresh dose of energy in the Karnataka bowlers who ensured that Mumbai middle and late order batsmen would not be involved in any more substantial stands that could pose them a more serious threat.
Of course, there were a couple of partnerships worth a little more than 30, keeping Mumbai in the game and giving them a faint glimmer of a miracle. On their part, Karnataka would be keen to keep that miracle in the precincts of their opposition’s imagination.