In 500th Ranji match, Siddhesh Lad saves Mumbai the blushes

Traditionally, Mumbai has been known to put their best foot forward when it comes to crunch situations. They can never accept defeat in any Ranji Trophy match without giving their all. More so in their historic 500th.

And, when they had to bat out the whole of the fourth and final day on Sunday to save themselves from the embarrassment of an innings defeat to Baroda, they had their most dependable 'crisis men' in Siddhesh Lad and veteran Abhishek Nayar to bail them out.

It is situations like these that brings the best out of Lad and Nayar. Even if the close-in fielders are chirpy. Lad thrives in such situations.

Nayar does not get bored just defending, defending and defending. On Sunday, the left-hander batted for two hours and 21 minutes and faced 108 balls for eight runs at a strike rate of 7.41.

Lad's was far better. In his five hours and two minutes stay in the middle, he made an unbeaten 71 (238 balls, 4x4) at a strike rate of 29.83.

Lad, only 25 and with 35 matches behind him before this, has time and again dug Mumbai out of the woods. He walked in at the fall of the most established batsman and Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane halfway through the morning session.

Individual scores did not matter to him nor Nayar ahead of the more important task of saving Mumbai from defeat. Lad led the fight till the very last over of the match when Baroda realised that three wickets were not possible in the final two deliveries and decided to shake hands with the batsmen after signing the peace treaty.

Baroda's young captain Deepak Hooda did not seem pleased with the result. His inexperienced team got three points from the draw after Mumbai finished at 260/7 in their second innings, but Hooda was aiming for seven points including the bonus for an innings win.

He tried all the bowling options, even bringing himself on for his off-spinners. He packed the close-in region with six surrounding the bat at one stage and increasing it to all nine towards the end when victory could not be ruled out.

When the final day resumed with Mumbai 102/4, there was only one team that could have won – Baroda. Their medium-pacer Atit Sheth bowled from round the wicket and tried to persuade Rahane to falling into the leg trap with short stuff. With 40 Tests experience, Rahane dropped the short balls dead down at his feet. He was not one to be tempted into pulling or hooking.

His partner Suryakumar Yadav, too, was in no mood to play a stroke.

Stonewalling was what Rahane and Yadav resorted to and followed to a greater extent by Nayar and Lad. So much so that Yadav did not move from his overnight score of 2 until after the morning first hour, and facing 35 deliveries, when he drove debutant off-spinner Kartik Kakade through covers for four.

Mumbai have been totally dominated by Baroda with both the bat and the ball on the previous three days. It was a landmark match that Mumbai will not like to remember. And, for someone like Shreyas Iyer, who was in the T20 squad before joining the team for this game and who threw away the opportunity to dig it out for Mumbai as if he was not interested in batting on Saturday evening, it was a lesson he would have learnt from watching Rahane and Co. on how to value one’s wicket and put team before self.

Rahane led the way and punished only loose deliveries, which were themselves very few, like the one short and wide of the leg stump by Sheth that was pulled away for four to fine leg boundary. Yadav, who has played recklessly in the past, did not play one irresponsible shot on the day. He assumed control even after Rahane was bowled by Swapnil Singh soon after resumption after drinks interval.

Perhaps a lapse in concentration, Rahane went back foot and his poor shot selection brought about his downfall, the ball brushing his pad on to the stumps, undoing all the hard work that he has done from Saturday evening and in his three hours and 24 minutes stay at the crease for 45.

Yadav and Siddhesh Lad took Mumbai safe to 163/5 at lunch, by which time the hosts added 61 runs in 35 overs. Yadav was in sight of his second fifty of the season when he fell in a manner similar to Rahane, shaping to cut part-time offie Deepak Hooda in his first over and was done in by the sharp turn to be bowled.

It was left to the last recognised batting pair of Lad and Nayar to deny Baroda victory. Mumbai also rode on luck when Lad, on 57 (Mumbai 236/7), miscued a pull off Swapnil and was caught at short mid-wicket but the bowler had stepped over the popping crease.

But not every time, when the supremely defensive Nayar was displeased with the caught behind decision off Kakade. Mumbai had to face another 11 probing overs, which Lad saw off with No. 9 and dependable Dhawal Kulkarni.

SCOREBOARD:

Mumbai (1st innings): 171
Baroda (1st innings): 575/9 dec
Mumbai (2nd innings, o/n 102/4): A Rahane b Singh 45, S Yadav b Hooda
44, S Lad not out 71, A Nayar c Patel b Kakade 8, D Kulkarni not out 2
Extras (B-4, LB2, W1, NB14) 21
Total (for 7 wkts, 120.4 overs) 260
Fall of wickets: 4-99 (27.3 ov, Gohil), 5-125 (48.1 ov, Rahane), 6-204
(74.6, Yadav), 7-254 (109.5 ov, Nayar).
Bowling: A Sheth  21-5-66-1 (W1, NB2), S Mangalorkar 5-0-21-0, L
Meriwala 14-6-19-1 (NB3), Swapnil Singh 38.4-17-55-2 (NB2), A
Karambelkar 2-0-4-0, K Kakade 24-9-50-2 (NB1), A Waghmode  2-0-3-0, V
Solanki 5-0-16-0 (NB4), D Hooda 9-2-20-1 (NB2).