Ajinkya Rahane scores a timely 116 to bail Mumbai out of a slouch; Agarkar complements well with a gritty 78 as holders finish Day I at 238-5.
Ajinkya Rahane has played some superb knocks since his debut in 2007, but the hundred which he scored on Thursday will surely remain close to his heart. The No. 3 batsman struck an unbeaten 116 to bail Mumbai out of danger against Haryana in the quarterfinal tie of the Ranji Trophy at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak on Thursday.
On the opening day of four-day tie, Mumbai were rescued from the troubled waters by Rahane and Ajit Agarkar (78). A crucial 174-run partnership between the duo for the fifth wicket took the visitors to a safe zone. The defending champions finished the day at 238-5 down as Rahane and Powar were unbeaten at the crease.
Wasim Jaffer’s decision to bat first on a slow track backfired as Mumbai were reduced to 55-4 by a disciplined Haryana pace attack led by India discard Joginder Sharma.
Openers Sahil Kukreja and Sushant Marathe departed cheaply. Skipper Jaffer started off well, cautious and patient, but was trapped leg before to medium-pacer Sachin Rana for 19. Last match’s triple centurion Rohit Sharma, too, did not trouble the scorers by getting dismissed for a golden duck.
It was the pair of Rahane and Agarkar that steadied the sinking ship. The duo took their time but did not compromise on dispatching the bad balls to the fence. Agarkar, who scored a match-winning ton against Himachal Pradesh, again showed what he is capable of. His innings of 78 came at a steady pace from 166 balls with nine boundaries and a six.
The all-rounder, however, was unfortunate not to complete his second Ranji Trophy ton as was caught plumb in front of the wicket off Rana.
Rahane did a good job of taking the responsibility and showed great maturity in his innings of 116. His knock which came 267 balls showed that he is ready for the bigger stage.
The 21-year-old said he enjoyed playing an anchor’s role when his team was in trouble.
“We recovered well after being at 55-4 at one stage. The partnership between me and Ajit was very crucial since Wasim, Rohit had gone back to the pavilion. We just had to be there and play the ball as it came,” he said after the end of the day’s play.
Rahane further revealed that the wicket was difficult to bat on. “The ball wasn’t coming on to the bat so easily. It was slow and low. I just remained focused, determined and calm which paid off. The situation was tough but I enjoyed bailing out my team from danger. I will put this innings on the top of my chart,” he added.
Mumbai 1st inningsS Kukreja c Dewan b Budhwar 5, S Marathe lbw b Joginder 6, A Rahane batting 116, W Jaffer lbw b Rana 19, R Sharma c Dewan b Rana 0, A Agarkar lbw b Rana 78, R Powar batting 0; Extras: (B 8, LB 6) 14; Total: (5 wickets; 90 overs) 238
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-17, 3-55, 4-55, 5-229
Bowling: Joginder 18-4-44-1, S Budhwar 18-4-67-1, S Rana 20-8-41-3, Dhruv Singh 13-2-40-0, A Mishra 21-8-32-0
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