Ranji Trophy final: Shardul gives Mumbai edge on Day 1

PTI

Mumbai, March 10

The seasoned duo of Shreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane failed to fire yet again but Shardul Thakur’s all-round utility helped hosts Mumbai claw their way back against Vidarbha on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final.

After scoring a counterpunching 75 off only 69 balls to give Mumbai’s below-par first innings score of 224 some semblance of respectability, Thakur also dismissed veteran opener Dhruv Shorey (0). Vidarbha were 31/3 at stumps, with Atharva Taide (21 not out) and night-watchman Aditya Thakare at the crease.

Playing the last First-Class game of his career, medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni bowled his customary out-swingers that had Aman Mokhade (8) and Test triple-centurion Karun Nair (0) nicking it to Hardik Tamore behind stumps.

Mumbai’s top guns Rahane and Iyer were both dismissed for identical scores of 7 in a shocking collapse that saw the 41-time champions slipping from 81/0 to 111/6 on either side of the lunch break. His achievement as a leader notwithstanding, Rahane’s miserable run in the Ranji Trophy continued when the Mumbai skipper played one meekly to mid-on to be dismissed at a time when his team needed him to drop anchor.

Out-of-favour and back in the grind to come back in the national team reckoning again, Iyer once again failed to bail Mumbai out of trouble due to his poor technique.

During the morning session, Umesh Yadav (2/43 in 13.3 overs) was as wayward as one could be, spraying the new ball all over. But the pacer with 170 Test victims did get the prized scalp of Iyer to compound Mumbai’s problems during the post-lunch session.

Having lost six wickets for a mere 40 runs, Mumbai also went through a phase in which no boundary was hit for as many as 18 overs.

But the complexion of the game changed drastically upon the arrival of Thakur in the middle, who hit a few fours to put the pressure back on Vidarbha and maintained the tone.

Brief scores: Mumbai 224 in 64.3 overs (Thakur 75, Shaw 46; Thakur 3/54, Dubey 3/62, Yadav 2/43); Vidarbha 31/3 in 13 overs (Taide 21*; Kulkarni 2/9, Thakur 1/14).

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