Every run scored by Sahil Kukreja and Omkar Gurav was cheered merrily by spectators gathered at the Balsad District Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday.
Every run scored by Sahil Kukreja and Omkar Gurav was cheered merrily by spectators gathered at the Balsad District Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday. One wonders if the Mumbai openers ever received such approval in their careers. All that clapping and whistling, though, wasn’t enough. Both Kukreja (81; 150 balls, 10x4) and Gurav (89; 195 balls, 9x4) failed to capitalise on solid starts, but the defending Ranji Trophy champions still ended the first day of their fifth round encounter against Gujarat on a high.
Skipper Wasim Jaffer (47 batting; 118 balls, 6x4), who chose to bat, and No 3 bat Ajinkya Rahane (54 batting; 104 balls, 6x4) batted responsibly to guide Mumbai to 283 for two.
The openers, who had disappointed with a below-par show against Assam last week, batted as if they were on a mission. The duo batted cautiously in the first hour of play. But once they got their eye in, there was no stopping Kukreja and Gurav. While Kukreja batted aggressively, Gurav chose to remain quiet. The wicketkeeper-batsman, though, did punish the wayward deliveries.
Kukreja, who is often criticised for going into a shell, pleased the eye with some delightful cover drives. In fact, his confidence level was so high that he stepped out against the experienced Siddharth Trivedi on three occasions. He first hit the right-arm medium-pacer through the covers and then flicked one to mid-wicket. The third time he stepped out, the crowd roared and began chanting his name.
Fast bowler Ashraf Makda, too, faced the right-hander’s wrath as he was thrashed through the point region a couple of times.
Mumbai were going from strength to strength and the openers were inching closer to their centuries. However, poor shot selection dented their dreams. Kukreja was first to go when he was dismissed by Ishwar Choudhary. The opening stand, worth 166 runs, came to a needless end. Eight overs later, a hurried Gurav hit a cut shot only to gift Priyank Panchal, stationed at point, the simplest of catches. Trivedi was the lucky bowler on this occasion.
Rahane and Jaffer then took over. Jaffer looked in his elements as he flicked and drove through the covers with elan. Rahane, too, scored at will.
At one stage, Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel employed a 7-2 strategy and asked his seamers to bowl on or around off-stump. Jaffer adapted quickly and simply used his wrists to play the ball towards the leg side.
Scorecard
Mumbai 1st innings: S Kukreja c Parmar b Choudhary 81, O Gurav c Panchal b Trivedi 89, A Rahane 54 batting, W Jaffer 47 batting; Extras: (B2, LB3, W6, NB1) 12
Total: (2 wickets; 90 overs) 283
Fall of Wickets: 1-166 (Kukreja, 53.5 ov), 2-183 (Gurav, 61.2 ov)
Bowling: S Trivedi 19-4-66-1 (W1), A Makda 17-4-54-0 (1w), I Choudhary 20-3-57-1 (NB1), J Makla 21-1-68-0, P Panchal 4-0-10-0, S Patel 4-0-17-0, R Chauhan 2-0-3-0, N Patel
3-1-2-0
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