Vasavada rues his dismissal

It was a mixed day for Saurashtra batsman Arpit Vasavada whose battling half-century kept his team just above water against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final here.

While his 77, only his second 50-plus knock for the season, helped Saurashtra recover from a sorry 126 for seven to finish Wednesday’s opening day at a relatively comfortable 192 for eight, his dismissal in what would have been the final over of the day left him disappointed.

“Very, very (disappointed),” he said after the day’s play. “The whole day I concentrated hard, I was there from morning and just three balls (were left in the day). It was a matter of (playing out) just three balls, so very disappointed.”

The southpaw admitted the conditions were difficult for the batsmen and hoped Saurashtra bowlers too would exploit them. “There was some help for the bowlers in the morning and, throughout the day, the ball was moving a bit. It was tough for the batsmen to score. They (Mumbai) bowled a disciplined line but the lower-order partnership with Prerak (Mankad) was very helpful. I am not saying that it is very tough (to bat) but it is not easy to bat, it is not easy to score runs if you bowl a good line and length. Our bowlers are actually in good form. We are doing well since last two matches, our bowlers are doing well. So it will be a tough task for them,” he reasoned.

Dhawal Kulkarni (4/30) was the main architect of Mumbai’s fine show on the day. The right-arm seamer made best use of the conditions that suited his type of bowling, especially with the new ball. “I'm a seam bowler, so my strength is to hit the seam consistently. If there is a bit of grass, it helps me. So that's how it was today. Till around 20 overs, the ball does a bit off the surface. But later on, it's easy for the batsmen, if they apply. It was difficult to maintain pressure in the later stages, but we had to bowl in the right areas and that's what we did. That's how we restricted them to this score today,” he pointed out.

The India paceman also plotted the early dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara. “Pujara is always a little dicey against the ball which comes in. And that's what I had in my mind. I have played against him before also, so that's what was there in my mind to keep bowling in. And then, surprise him with the outgoing delivery.”