Musheer, Bhatt shine as match stays in balance
The former notches up his double ton whereas the latter curtails Mumbai’s first innings to 384 with a brilliant sevenfor; Baroda is at 127 for two
Sarfaraz Khan had converted his first seven First Class hundreds into 150+ innings, including a triple and two double centuries. On Saturday, his younger brother Musheer repeated the streak by ensuring his overnight hundred swelled into an unbeaten double.
More importantly, Musheer’s (203 n.o., 357b, 18x4) perseverance helped Mumbai add vital runs on the board before Bhargav Bhatt’s (7/112) best First Class figures meant Mumbai finished its first essay at 384 midway through the second day’s play of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal.
Baroda started off on a strong note, ending the proceedings at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground at 127 for two.
Shashwat Rawat (69 n.o., 88b, 9x4) breezy knock ensured the pendulum of the game stayed right in the middle.
Had it not been for veteran Bhatt’s effective variation, Baroda may well have been chasing a 400plus total. At lunch, with Musheer batting on 183 and Shardul Thakur accompanying him, despite losing Musheer’s overnight partner Hardik Tamore (caught in slips off leftarm spinner Ninad Rathva), Mumbai would have banked on its long tail to come good.
While Musheer continued to rely on strike rotation, the likes of Shardul, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi could not replicate it to leave Musheer – having batted for a marathon 520 minutes – without partners.
Shardul struck in the second over, crashing into the stumps after beating debutante Priyanshu Moliya. While the ace bowler continued to ask questions, the other four bowlers struggled to gauge the
RANJI SCORES, QUARTERFINALS, DAY 2
Dnature of the pitch, a slow turner.
It resulted in the bowlers offering way too many boundary balls and Shashwat and opener Jyotsnil Singh made merry. Once Jyotsnil nicked Shams Mulani in the slip cordon, captain Vishnu Solanki middled the ball well to send a cautionary note in the Mumbai camp.
The scores:
Mumbai – 1st innings: Prithvi Shaw st Patel b Bhatt 33, Bhupen Lalwani c Sharma b Bhatt 19,
At Nagpur: Vidarbha 460 in 143.1 overs (Karun Nair 90, Vidwath Kaverappa 4/99) vs Karnataka 98/2 in 24 overs (R. Samarth 43 batting).
At Mumbai: Mumbai 384 in 140.4 overs (Musheer Khan 203 n.o., Hardik Tamore 57, Bhargav Bhatt 7/112) vs Baroda 127/2 in 35 overs (Shashwat Rawat 69 batting).
At Coimbatore: Saurashtra 183 vs Tamil Nadu 300/6 in 100 overs (Sai Kishore 60, B. Indrajith 80, M. Boopathi Vaishna Kumar 65).
At Indore: Madhya Pradesh 234 in 81.1 overs (Saransh Jain 41 n.o.) & 21/0 in 7 overs vs Andhra 172 in 68.3 overs.
Musheer Khan (not out) 203, Ajinkya Rahane b Bhatt 3, Shams Mulani lbw b Rathva 6, Suryansh Shedge b Bhatt 20, Hardik Tamore c Jyotsnil b Rathva 57, Shardul Thakur c Rathva b Bhatt 17, Tanush Kotian c Limbani b Bhatt 7, Mohit Avasthi c Sharma b Rathva 2, Tushar Deshpande c Rawat b Bhatt 0; Extras (b-3, lb-13, w-1) 17; Total (All out in 140.4 overs) 384.
Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-72, 3-86, 4-99, 5-142, 6-323, 7-364, 8-380, 9-383.
Baroda bowling: Meriwala 21-4-61-0, Limbani 20-3-48-0, Bhatt 42.4-5-112-7, Rathva 38-4-86-3, Pithiya 17-4-50-0, Moliya 2-0-11-0.
Baroda – 1st innings: Jyotsnil Singh c Lalwani b Mulani 32, Priyanshu Moliya b Shardul 1, Shashwat Rawat (batting) 69, Vishnu Solanki (batting) 23;
Extras (b-1, nb-1): 2; Total (for two wickets in 35 overs): 127.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-65.
Mumbai bowling: Avasthi 6-0-29-0, Shardul 7-0-25-1, Deshpande 7-1-22-0, Mulani 10-1-31-1, Kotian 5-0-19-0.
MYSTICAL TROPHY (2,400m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66 — 4.30:
1. Regal Command (2) R. Ajinkya 59, 2. Gangster (4) C.S. Jodha 57.5,
3. Exuma (5) Parmar 54, 4. Giant King (1) Yash Narredu 53.5 and 5. Multiverse (3) Neeraj 51.
KUMAR R. DALAL GOLD TROPHY (1,600m), Cl. II, rated 60 to 86 — 5.00: 1. Pride’s Angel (8) Antony Raj S 59, 2. Geographique (5) Neeraj 58, 3. Arbaian Queen (2) M.S. Deora 57, 4. Scaramanga (1) C.S. Jodha 54.5, 5. Vincent Van Gogh (3) P.S. Chouhan 54.5, 6. Rambler (9) P. Trevor 54, 7. Alpine Star (6) Mustakim 53, 8. Raffaello (10) H. Gore 52.5, 9. Murwara Princess (4) Merchant 52 and 10. Own Voice (7) S. Amit 51.