Mumbai’s eight-wicket triumph over Haryana on Tuesday in the All-India inter-state Tournament was not just courtesy Sachin Tendulkar.
MOTERA : Mumbai’s eight-wicket triumph over Haryana on Tuesday in the All-India inter-state Tournament was not just courtesy Sachin Tendulkar. The Ranji champs made three changes to the team which played on Monday night. This move, forced in part due to injuries, worked like magic, besides giving a glimpse of Mumbai cricket’s future.
Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla was included in place of an unfit Romesh Powar, and the 20-year-old ran through the Haryana batting line-up like a knife through butter, scalping five wickets for just 10 runs in his quota of four overs. Ajinkya Rahane, 18, came in place of India’s Test opener Wasim Jaffer, who doesn’t look the part in this kind of a format, and stroked a 43-ball unbeaten 50, that included six boundaries, while opening with Tendulkar.
”They are very promising, and they have done very well for Mumbai of late. They have a good future,” said chairman of selectors, chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar. ”I always pitch for experience, but we wanted to try some fresh legs in this format, and injuries made our task easier,” said Mumbai skipper Amol Muzumdar. The interesting bit is, the two were not picked for Tuesday’s game as experienced campaigners were preferred.
Abdullah, a student of Anjuman Islam, is talked about in the cricketing circles of Mumbai as a bright prospect. Earlier this year, the youngster drew attention as he returned figures of three for 38 against the touring Sri Lankans in a practice match for the MCA invitational XI.
“We have been hearing about him for a while. He had an opportunity, and he took it with both his hands,” said Muzumdar, of the young prodigy. Any nervousness that Rahane, who admitted he didn’t expect at all to get a chance, had before opening the innings with Tendulkar disappeared soon. Muzumdar rates Rahane highly. “He will do well in the future. We picked him after he scored about 2,000 runs in a season in junior cricket. That doesn’t happen often,” said Muzumdar.
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