MUMBAI: Mumbai’s fate of proceeding further in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season now rests on the shoulders of its lower-order after the top half malfunctioned yet again.
Needing a minimum of three points to qualify for the quarterfinals from Elite Group B, the former domestic giants had reached 187 for 5 at stumps on Day 2 at the Brabourne Stadium – still needing another 198 to overhaul Maharashtra’s first innings score of 384.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Prasad Pawar, promoted to No. 3, was left waging a lone battle for Mumbai. The 27-year-old was on 99 (170b, 4×12) when his partner of 43 runs, Suved Parkar was bowled by left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal with barely a few minutes of play remaining in the day.
Opener Divyaansh Saxena (35), Ajinkya Rahane (14) and Armaan Jaffer (19) fell chasing deliveries outside the off-stump.
Maharashtra coach Santosh Jedhe wasn’t surprised with the mode of dismissals.
“We had planned it that way. We knew Armaan can play big shots in front of the wicket, so we had planned for that. We made Ajinkya play as many balls as possible, and we were successful in that plan,” he said.
Maharashtra had tasted blood first up when pacer Pradeep Dadhe removed Yashasvi Jaiswal leg before off the very first ball of Mumbai’s innings. The batsman literally dragged himself off the field, clearly indicating he wasn’t happy with the decision.
Pawar sent ahead of regular No. 3 Jaffer, came out at the stroke of lunch with an aggressive intent. He put up an attractive 79-run stand for the second wicket with Saxena. But regular fall of wickets forced him to go into a shell. Still, he was audacious enough to attempt a reverse sweep at 98, in an obvious bid to reach his maiden First-Class hundred.
Earlier, pacer Mohit Avasthi, grabbed his first-ever fifer (5-89) for Mumbai.
Brief scores: Maharashtra 384 in 115 overs (Siddhesh Veer 48, Kedar Jadhav 128, Saurabh Nawale 58, Ashay Palkar 66*; Mohit Avasthi 5-89, Shams Mulani 3-118) vs Mumbai 187-5 in 56.4 overs (Divyaansh Saxena 35, Prasad Pawar 99*; Pradeep Dadhe 2-50).
Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiUWh0dHBzOi8vbS50aW1lc29maW5kaWEuY29tL2NpdHkvbXVtYmFpL211bWJhaS1zdHJ1Z2dsaW5nL2FydGljbGVzaG93Lzk3MzM2MTk2LmNtc9IBVWh0dHBzOi8vbS50aW1lc29maW5kaWEuY29tL2NpdHkvbXVtYmFpL211bWJhaS1zdHJ1Z2dsaW5nL2FtcF9hcnRpY2xlc2hvdy85NzMzNjE5Ni5jbXM?oc=5
