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ShareMumbai: Ramesh Powar remains a stellar performer. One of the rare allrounders, Powar showed on Thursday why he is rated so highly in domestic cricket. Following the failure of the Mumbai top order, on the penultimate day, Powar smashed an unbeaten century and stitched a 163-run partnership with Onkar Khanvilkar to give his team a massive first innings lead of 212 runs against Punjab at the Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh.
The overnight batsman hit 125 not out off 227 balls with 17 boundaries while Khanvilkar, coming in at No.6, played the anchor's role to perfection with a patient 213-ball 87.
He was unfortunate not to complete his maiden century as he was trapped LBW to leg-spinner Rahul Sharma.
Mumbai declared on 471/9 in the end. In their second innings, Punjab lost opener Sunny Sohal (4) to Zaheer Khan. The hosts were 55 for 1 with last innings centurion Ravi Inder Singh (26) and Uday Kaul (26) at crease when stumps were drawn.
Resuming at 244 for 7, Powar and Khanvilkar were stubborn in their approach. They took full toll of the loose deliveries. Powar was more aggressive while Khanvilkar, who has been struggling to cement a place in the Mumbai side for the last five seasons, was out there to prove a point. He was cautious and played with patience and determination, letting Powar go after the bowlers.
Khanvilkar failed to reach the three-figure mark and was dismissed when the scoreboard read 391. His innings of 87 was studded with nine boundaries and a six. Powar then added another half-century partnership for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan (15).
Coach Praveen Amre said he felt relieved after Powar and Khanvilkar bailed Mumbai out of trouble. "They did a fantastic job. Khanvilkar was outstanding and took up the responsibility well and played a perfect anchor's role. He has been struggling to get into the side for the last five seasons but he has proved his worth," Amre said.
"After our top order batsmen failed, this partnership not only bailed us out but has given us a chance for an outright win. It was a good finish," he added.
Scorecard:
Mumbai (overnight 244/7): O Khanvilkar lbw b Sharma 87, A Agarkar c & b Gony 11, VR Samant c Kakkar b Harmeet Singh 15, R Powar not out 125, Z Khan b Harmeet Singh 17, D Kulkarni not out 15
Extras: (b 12, lb 6, w 2, nb 3) 23; Total: (9 wickets decl.; 141 overs; 644 mins) 471 (3.34 runs per over); Fall of wickets: 6/202, 7/228, 8/391, 9/444; Bowling: Harmeet Singh 30-5-92-2, L Ablish 32-4-107-4, MS Gony 33-6-99-2, R Sharma 33-3-87-1, T Kohli 5-0-25-0, Gaurav Gambhir 8-0-43-0
Punjab: S Sohal c Khanvilkar b Khan 4, R Inder Singh batting 26, U Kaul batting 24
Extras: (b 1) 1; Total: (1 wicket; 23 overs) 55 (2.39 runs per over); Fall of wickets: 1/6; Bowling: Z Khan 8-1-33-1, A Agarkar 5-2-12-0, DS Kulkarni 7-5-8-0, R Sharma 2-1-1-0, O Khanvilkar 1-1-0-0
