JOIN USRanji Trophy: Clinical Mumbai take firm grip
There is no team as effective and efficient as Mumbai in domestic circuit in making things happen. The pitch could be flat, opposition batters may be defying them, the team could be in trouble while batting but more often than not they will find personnel with the ability to turn the tide.
Uttar Pradesh batters Madhav Kaushik and Karan Sharma, the overnight pair, were slowly rebuilding on the third morning of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal clash at the Just Cricket Academy ground. Mumbai were bowling with discipline but with the pitch being flat and sun out, Kaushik and Karan faced little danger unless they played a loose shot.
Both batters showed good temperament to defy the pace trio of Dhawal Kulkarni, Tushar Deshpande (3/34) and Mohit Avasthi (3/35). All three pacers, aware the pitch with barely any movement which necessitated disciplined bowling and patience, just kept it around the off-stump. Kaushik and Karan were game for the test and thwarted all their attempts easily for a little over an hour.
Mumbai needed someone to find an opening and inject some adrenaline. The combo of Avasthi and Sarfaraz Khan did it six minutes past the opening hour. Avasthi bowled his usual short of a length ball around the off-stump and Karan (27, 76b), who lost his focus for the second, poked at hit. Sarfaraz then dived full length to his right at second slip, pulling off stunning catch as Mumbai celebrated vehemently.
Although Mumbai got the opening they were desperate for, UP were not going down without a fight as Kaushik and Rinku resumed the defence. But Mumbai again found the men to break UP and swing the game decisively in their favour. First off-spinner Tanush Kotian (3/35) delivered a double blow, snuffing out Kaushik (38, 91b, 5x4, 1x6) and Rinku Singh off successive overs.
Then Avasthi hastened the end with two wickets in the 37th over, removing Dhruv Jorel and Saurabh Kumar as UP slipped to 107/7 from 96/4 in a space of 16 balls. Shivam Mavi (48, 55b, 4x4, 2x6) counter-attacked but Mumbai stuck to their fine lines and lengths to eventually dismiss UP for 180 in 54.3 overs and take a massive 213-run lead.
The four quick wickets were classic examples of bowling with patience and reaping the subsequent rewards. Kotian, preferred in the morning over in-form spinner Shams Mulani, was on the money throughout his extended spell. He got the odd ball to turn and bowled the lengths to which Kaushik and Rinku wouldn’t be able to use their feet. With runs not flowing freely, something had to give in at some stage and that’s exactly what happened.
Mumbai, having gained a massive lead, unsurprisingly chose to bat again. Skipper Prithvi Shaw slammed a brisk 71-ball 64 while first innings centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal (35 batting) and Armaan Jaffer (32 batting) were unseparated as Mumbai reached 133/1 at stumps, an overall lead of 346 runs and 41-time champions effectively securing a place in the final next week at the Chinnaswamy Stadium unless something catastrophic happens.