Mumbai spinners Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian bailed out the defending champions on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals. After Haryana pacers ran through the majority of Mumbai’s batting line-up, the two spinners put up a heroic 165-run stand for the eighth wicket. Kotian and Mulani helped Mumbai stage an impressive fightback, helping the side close the day at 278/8 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
It was mainly a day for bowlers throughout the Ranji Trophy fixtures on Saturday, as Gujarat bowled out Saurashtra for just 216, while Jammu and Kashmir and Vidarbha were reduced to 228/8 and 264/6 respectively.
Vidarbha had the best day out with the bat, but that was all due to in-form Karun Nair’s gritty hundred in the middle-order. Nair held the innings together with Danish Malewar after Vidarbha had lost 3 wickets for just 44 runs. The duo stabilised the innings with a 98-run partnership after which Melewar was dismissed by Vijay Shankar at 75.
At the end of the day’s play, Nair remained unbeaten on 100 off 180 balls, batting alongside No. 8 Harsh Dubey. Vidarbha will hope for a strong first innings total so that they can put pressure on the Tamil Nadu batters as the wicket gradually breaks in Nagpur.
Things were not as rosy for the Mumbai team as they collapsed despite having Suryakumar Yadav back in their ranks. Having opted to bat, Mumbai’s batting unit, comprising former Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (31), T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav (9), and batting all-rounder Shivam Dube (28), were down in the dumps at 113 for 7, largely due to some incisive bowling by the medium pacers from Haryana led by workhorse Anshul Kamboj (3/58 in 18 overs).
After the early success, the Eden strip became a batting paradise once the moisture dried up, and that helped Mulani (91, 178 balls) and last year’s ‘Player of the Tournament’ Kotian (85*, 154 balls) make full use of the loose deliveries.
While Mumbai might not end up posting a huge total, Mulani and Kotian did enough to ensure that they have something to bowl at when Haryana come out to bat.
The decision by Rahane to bat first was based on faith that they could see off the first hour, but inexperienced opener Ayush Mhatre (0) was dismissed off the very first delivery of the match as Kamboj hit the good length on a regular basis.
None of the Haryana seamers – Kamboj, Sumit Kumar (2/57 in 13 overs), Anuj Thakral (1/59 in 18 overs), and Ajit Chahal (1/21 in 5 overs) – clocked above 130 km/h, but almost everyone got enough movement in and away from the batter, pitching it between 4m to 6m length.
In the match between Saurashtra and Gujarat, seamer Chintan Gaja led the way with four wickets as Gujarat bowled out Saurashtra for just 216 runs in the first innings.
Batters Cheteshwar Pujara (26) and Sheldon Jackson (14) put Saurashtra in a precarious position on Day 1. Priyank Panchal and Aarya Desai came out to bat late in the final session on Day 1 and saw Gujarat off safely, scoring 21 runs in 5 overs.
In the last match of the quarters, giant killers Jammu and Kashmir failed to assert their dominance against Kerala. 33-year-old MS Nidheesh picked up 5 wickets to jolt the side and restrict J&K to just 228/8. It was once again the middle-order that helped the batting team survive, as Kanhaiya Wadhawan (48), Sahil Lotra (35), and Lone Nassir Muzaffar (44) added crucial runs for the side.
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