right-hander slams unbeaten 265; Mumbai nine wickets away from victory vs Hyderabad.
Virender Sehwag may have set the Brabourne Stadium on fire with a bludgeoning, unbeaten 284 against the Lankans, but not very far away, domestic cricket’s prolific run-getter went about his task with a clinical, undefeated 265 for Mumbai against hosts Hyderabad on Day Three of a Ranji Trophy Super League Group A tie.
Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane scored his second first class double hundred — and ninth ton — while Sahil Kukreja (122; 234 balls, 6x4, 2x6) and skipper Wasim Jaffer (107 not out; 125 balls, 9x4) ably supported the youngster as the defending champions declared their innings at 521 for 2 and took a 255-run lead at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, near Hyderabad. In the second innings, Hyderabad’s D Rushi Raj fell to Ramesh Powar for 29 before his side ended the day on 63 for one, still 192 runs behind.
As far as Mumbai are concerned, the equation is simple: Go out there, bowl Hyderabad out and take home five points. They are, however, assured of three points, courtesy a first innings lead but that’s not what they are aiming for.
“We are desperate to win this game,” Rahane, the day’s star, said. When asked if he rues the team’s decision to declare while he was going great guns, Rahane said, “A 300 doesn’t come your way every day. However, the priority was to make Hyderabad bat again and give our bowlers enough time to bowl them out. I completely stand by the team management’s decision to declare. We need to win this match to remain in the top two of Group A,” Rahane said.
Asked about his personal form, Rahane said, “It’s been a stop-start season and this knock is probably my best so far. I cut down on a lot of shots — like fishing outside the off-stump and playing across the line — and it paid off,” Rahane said.
SCORECARD:
Hyderabad 1st innings: 266; Mumbai 1st innings (Overnight 198/1): S Kukreja c Rayudu 122, A Rahane n.o. 265, W Jaffer n.o. 107; Extras: (B 4 LB 4 W 1 NB 5) 14;
Total: (2 wickets dec) 521; FoW: 2-285; Bowling: MP Arjun 26-5-91-2 (NB1), S Ahmed 24-1-102-0, A Yadav 27-2-122-0 (NB4 W1), A Shinde 38-3-152-0, A Quadri 13-0-46-0
Hyderabad 2nd innings: P Shashank Nag batting 22, D Rushi Raj c & b Powar 29, A Shinde batting 2; Extras: (B 3 LB 5 NB 2) 10;
Total: (1 wicket; 27 overs) 63 (2.33 runs per over); Fall of Wickets: 1-51; Bowling: A Agarkar 7-0-21-0 (NB1 W1), D Kulkarni 6-1-14-0, A Nayar 3-1-2-0, A Salvi 4-2-6-0, R Powar 4-2-6-1 (NB1 W1), I Abdulla 3-0-6-0.
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