Mumbai scrape through against Assam

Abhishek Nayar batted like a millionaire, but it was Ajit Agarkar who acted as dutifully as a soldier on the Siachen border to help Mumbai crawl out of a huge pit against Assam at the MCA facility in Bandra-Kurla Complex on Saturday.

Agarkar (29; 60 balls, 2x4), though, will sure thank good friend Amol Muzumdar for his ‘graciousness’. Mumbai were nine down with 291 on the board, still needing eight to go past Assam’s 298, when ‘Mumbaikar’ and Assam skipper Muzumdar spilled a sharp chance at first slip.

A stalwart like Agarkar doesn’t need a second invitation and he,
along with new-ball partner Dhawal Kulkarni (11*; 27 balls, 2x4), coolly scored those runs to help Mumbai reach 318, a good 20 runs ahead.

The three points also reinforced the Ranji champions’ (14pts) position at the top of the Super League Group A table. At stumps, Assam were 53 for three in the second essay when the umpires decided enough is enough. Iqbal Abdulla was the lone wicket-taker.

It may be noted that Mumbai had made a mess of a simple chase against Railways, too. Youngsters like Prashant Naik (who threw it away last week and now) and debutant Siddharth Chitnis got a taste of what playing in a Ranji Trophy match is all about.

Back to the thriller on Saturday, Agarkar walked in after off-spinner Arlen Konwar (5/101) triggered a stunning late collapse to reduce Mumbai to 266 for eight. It became 291 for nine once Abdulla was out stumped, also by Konwar, for only eight.

Earlier, resuming at 91 for three, Nayar (122; 143 balls, 12x4, 2x6) and opener Sahil Kukreja (76; 161 balls, 10x4) batted freely to add 98 in the first hour of play. Nayar (overnight 18) raced to his fifty soon after Kukreja (overnight 38) did the same.

Nayar then started outscoring Kukreja, who was stuck in the 70s. A slight lapse in concentration cost Kukreja his off stump and gave Dhiraj Goswami his third wicket.

The fourth-wicket partnership, worth 171, was finally broken. Nayar, meanwhile, batted from strength to strength, severely punishing Konwar whenever he erred in line.

On one such occasion, he moved from 87 to 93 with a straight six that nearly kissed the clubhouse roof. A boundary off the next one took him to 97, a sweep then fetched him two and he then ran a single to reach the milestone. Nayar scored a stunning 102 runs and the team 166 in the 32 overs of play before lunch. Mumbai were 257 for five (42 behind) at the break.

Nayar’s injury problems came back to haunt him and he started cramping soon after lunch. Abu Nechim’s throw from fine-leg was way faster than Nayar’s tired legs. Soon, one thing led to another, and it was left to Agarkar to rescue his side for the umpteenth time.

Scorecard
Assam 1st inns: 298
Mumbai 1st inns (O/N 91/3):
S Kukreja b Goswami 76, A Nayar run out (Ahmed) 122, P Naik c & b Konwar 19, S Chitnis c Sriram b Konwar 8, I Abdulla st Saikia b Konwar 8, R Powar c & b Konwar 0, A Agarkar c Sriram b Konwar 29, D Kulkarni n.o. 11
Extras: (B5, LB1, W1, NB10) 17; Total: (all out; 92.2 overs) 318 (3.44 runs per over)
FoW: 4-218, 5-252, 6-266, 7-268, 8-268, 9-291
Bowling: A Ahmed 15-0-51-0, R Mali 25-5-82-1 (NB4, W1), D Goswami 23-3-77-3, A Konwar 28.2-4-101-5, S Sriram 1-0-1-0

Assam 2nd inns: D Jadhav n.o. 21, S Roy c Rahane b Abdulla 1, G Sharma c sub (H Singh) b Abdulla 5, K Saikia c sub (H Singh) b Abdulla 19, S Sriram n.o. 0
Extras: (B6, W1) 7
Total: (3 wickets; 21 overs) 53 (2.52 runs per over)
FoW: 1-16, 2-22, 3-53
Bowling: R Powar 11-5-25-0, I Abdulla 10-5-22-3