For the fourth time this season, Mumbai fail to land killer blow.
Somewhere, something is going wrong. Neither do they look like champions nor are they playing like a fearless unit. For the fourth time in five matches, Ranji Trophy holders Mumbai have failed to earn an ‘outright’ win. If it was Punjab, Orissa and Railways on earlier occasions, it was Hyderabad’s turn to frustrate Wasim Jaffer & Co. on Thursday, the fourth and final day of a Super League Group ‘A’ tie at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal.
Needing nine wickets with 90 overs at their disposal — besides a cushion of 192 runs — Mumbai failed to turn it around and fell short by four wickets against a spirited Hyderabad. ICL returnee Ambati Rayudu (79; 153 balls, 10x4, 1x6), opener P Shashank Nag (57, 192 balls, 7x4) and Abhinav Kumar (49; 104 balls, 6x4, 1x6) ensured Mumbai did not go home with five points or more in the kitty.
Instead, the domestic heavyweights had to be content just three, courtesy a first innings lead. That now puts them on third place in Group ‘A’ with 15 points. Tamil Nadu (20) and Punjab (15) occupy the top two slots. Mumbai’s only win came at the expense of Himachal Pradesh at Bandra-Kurla last week. And there too, the hosts nearly messed it up by conceding the first innings lead.
The Uppal wicket was a pata (belter), no doubt. But with a spinner like Ramesh Powar and the talented Iqbal Abdulla, Mumbai failed to land the killer blow. What’s more, they face table-toppers Tamil Nadu at Bandra-Kurla after a three-day break.
It may be noted that there is no reason to panic as Mumbai have it in them to make the knockout stage. However, if they continue playing in this fashion, defending the coveted title — which they have won a record 38 times — won’t be easy at all.
A disappointed Jaffer said, “We are doing our best. All our matches were played on absolute flat tracks. I cannot blame my bowlers. They are all working hard but we are just not able to finish things off. We are still on track and need to win our remaining two league games.”
SCORECARD:
Hyderabad 1st innings: 266; Mumbai 1st innings: 521/2 decl
Hyderabad 2nd innings: PS Nag c Salvi b Abdulla 57, DR Raj c & b Powar 29, A Shinde b Powar 18, A Singh c Jaffer b Abdulla 16, A Rayudu c Jaffer b Abdulla 79, A Kumar b Nayar 49, I Khaleel not out 1, S Quadri not out 11; Extras: (B5, LB5, NB6) 16; Total: (6 wickets; 119 overs) 276 (2.31 runs per over); FoW: 1-51, 2-92, 3-127, 4-144, 5-257, 6-263
Bowling: A Agarkar 13-2-29-0 (NB1), D Kulkarni 15-4-25-0 (NB2), A Nayar 23-3-63-1, A Salvi 15-5-40-0, R Powar 20-6-37-2 (NB3 W3), I Abdulla 33-8-72-3.
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