Hosts' left-arm pacer take three wickets to peg Gujarat back as they trail by 65 runs with two wickets in hand
It's been two years since Royston Dias made his First Class debut for Mumbai in 2016. Before his career's ongoing fourth game, the left-arm pacer had played just three games with little success – just five wickets off four innings.
The numbers do not justify 25-year-old's talent, the tall left-arm pacer comes with the ability to swing the ball both ways at a decent pace.
On Thursday, Dias, who has been a journeyman with the Mumbai team for quite some time, reminded how crucial he can be when the team needs breakthroughs.
Wednesday was such a day. There was no Shardul Thakur. Team's lone soldier pacer Dhawal Kulkarni is out of form and the in-form pacer Tushar Desphande left the field due to hamstring injury.
And on a see-saw day, Dias came up with an inspiring bowling performance against Gujarat with a haul of three for 52 on Day 2 of the third round Group A Ranji Trophy tie at the Wankhede Stadium here.
The pacer guided Mumbai's push for a first innings lead as Gujarat finished the day on 232 for eight, thanks to Dhruv Raval's fighting 60 not out, with 65 runs needed to overhaul hosts total.
The day's play ended when Kulkarni scalped tail-ender Chintan Gaja in front of the wicket and umpires called it stumps.
Dias was supported well by other medium-pacer and first innings centurion Shivam Dubey and Kulkarni, who took two wickets apiece. Off-spinner Jay Bista returned with a wicket while left-arm spinner Dhrumil Matkar got none.
The day should have belonged to Gujarat for the kind of starts their batsmen got. Only three of them were out on single digits, rest began well but gave away their wickets at regular intervals.
Credit to Mumbai bowlers for bowling a disciplined line and hardly gave any opportunity for their opponents to free their arms.
Gujarat's innings began well with a 49-run stand between openers Kathan Patel and captain Priyank Panchal.
And even as visitors were going well, Dias broke the deadlock getting the captain caught behind. Soon after, Mumbai scalped two more with Kulkarni and Dube accounting for wickets of Patel and B Merai one after another.
Manpreet Juneja and Rujul Bhatt tried to rescue Gujarat with a 65-run stand before Dubey broke the stand by getting rid of Juneja. Bhatt fell soon giving a simple catch to short mid-wicket fielder Armaan Jaffer off Bista's off-spinner.
The last spell of Dias made things tougher for Gujarat when he got Rush Kalaria and Piyush Chawla in three overs. He was almost unplayable as he got good bounce off the wicket. The evening sea breeze helped in movement too.
Dias's second wicket Kalaria failed to negate an outswinger and edged to gully fielder Suryakumar Yadav. Chawla, who was hit on his thumb earlier by Dias, nicked him to wicket-keeper Aditya Tare.
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