Many expected that defending champions Mumbai, after their disappointing match against Delhi, will bounce back in the fourth round tie with Maharashtra.
Maharashtra snatch first innings lead from under the nose of defending champions Mumbai
MUMBAI: Many expected that defending champions Mumbai, after their disappointing match against Delhi, will bounce back in the fourth round tie with Maharashtra and will create a threat to the visitors’ chances of even a first innings win.
And especially with the team on paper and experienced players, the hosts always had the upper hand.
However, the ‘little brothers’ Maharashtra proved them wrong with impressive on-field performance that saw them gain the first innings points on the fourth and the last day of the Ranji Trophy Super League match at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
With this draw, Maharashtra have taken themselves close to the contention of entering the Super League semi-final with 15 points from four matches, while Mumbai managed to steal only 1 point and now have 10 points from four games.
The hosts, who took themselves close to the target after some solid batting from the experienced duo of Ramesh Powar and Ajit Agarkar on the previous day, failed to reach the target, due to some poor batting from lower order. Mumbai were bundled out an hour after start — leaving them 15-runs behind the desired target.
However, one cannot take away the credit from Maharashtra bowlers who bowled with great discipline and hardly gave any room to the batsmen to go for shots.
Mumbai’s only hope and overnight batsman Ramesh Powar, who enjoyed a 185-run partnership with Agarkar, was the first to go when he nicked one to wicket-keeper Vishant More off Waheed Sayyed. He managed to add only four runs to his overnight score of 102.
Powar’s dismissal destroyed all the chances of Mumbai’s first innings lead, as wicket-keeper Vinayak Samant (22) and Murtuzza Hussain (16) succumbed to left-arm seamer Samad Fallah’s consistent bowling.
The 22-year-old youngster finished with an impressive figure of 4 for 114, taking his tally to 12 wickets from 2 first class games this season.
Maharashtra in their second innings finished at 139 for 3, before both the captains decided to concede.
Hrishkesh Kanitkar top scored with an unbeaten 50. Maharashtra coach Chandrakant Pandit was happy that his young team managed to beat a champion side like Mumbai on first innings.
“Three points from Mumbai. Good. Looking at it, it was anybody’s match,” said Pandit after the match.
Talking about his young team, Pandit said, “It’s a young team and the combination worked for us. The boys played with a positive approach. And that is an advantage when you have a young side, which plays with a fearless mind.”
The former Mumbai coach also said that he expected the batsmen to play some rash shots in the end. “I am not surprised with it. They were waiting for opportunity and we created for them.”
Meanwhile, Ajit Agarkar and Avishkar Salvi will miss Mumbai’s next game against
Rajasthan from December 9, due to injuries. They will be replaced by seamers Usman Malvi and Kshemal Waingankar.
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