Wasim Jaffer does not believe in resting on his laurels.
Hosts start their Ranji campaign with a bang, crushing Rajasthan by 279 runs
MUMBAI: Wasim Jaffer does not believe in resting on his laurels. That’s why even when Mumbai scored a thumping 237-run victory over Rajasthan on Thursday, the Mumbai skipper did not go overboard with excitement and joy. Though the stylish batsman described the win as a “perfect start” to the season, he was not impressed with the way Mumbai bowlers gave away runs in the middle of the innings.
However, Mumbai did complete the formalities of finishing Rajasthan’s second innings in pretty quick time. Coming into the fourth day and six wickets to go, a win for Mumbai was on the cards.
Overnight batsman Ashok Meenaria (5) and Sumit Mathur (17) were sent back to the pavilion by seamer Dhaval Kulkarni who took his tally to four wickets in the innings and nine in the match. Medium pacer Usman Malvi, who went wicketless in the first innings, was on fire as he sent middle-order Robin Bist (17) to the pavilion.
Though achieving the target was impossible for Rajasthan, the sixth wicket pair of Gagan Khoda and Pankaj Singh created quite a stir in the Mumbai camp. The duo put up 68 runs and put up a dogged fight. But Malvi ended the partnership by trapping Khoda leg before for 40 while Pankaj Singh gave an edge to wicket-keeper Vinayak Samant off Ramesh Powar.
Jaffer praised his bowlers’ efforts but felt they have to be more cautious and not give chances. “Everyone bowled well, especially Dhaval Kulkarni, who claimed nine wickets in his debut match. Though Ajit Agarkar went wicketless, he is an experienced bowler and he has just come out of an injury. He will bounce back soon,” he said.
Jaffer said they will miss Rohit Sharma who will join the India ODI squad.
Scorecard
Mumbai 1st innings 307
Rajasthan 1st innings 204
Mumbai 2nd innings 305
Rajasthan (Overnight 63-4)
GK Khoda lbw Malvi 40; AL Meenaria lbw Kulkarni 5; Robin Bist c wk Samant b Malvi 17; Sumit Mathur b Kulkarni 15, Pankaj Singh c wk Samant b Powar 33; Vikrant Yadav not out 3; Gajendra Singh c Jaffer b Powar 0
Extras: 5 (4nb, 1w);
Total: 171 all out 61.4 overs
FoW: 1-1, 2-34, 3-51, 4-53, 68-5, 119-6, 120-7, 163-8, 168-9
Bowling: Ajit Agarkar 14-3-36-0, Dhaval Kulkarni 20-3-48-4, Usman Malvi 12-2-41-3, Ramesh Powar 9.4-2-26-3, Sairaj Bahutule 6-0-20-0
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