Ranji Trophy, Elite Group A: Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian Put Mumbai In Control

Crisis man Shardul Thakur sizzled in the lower order again with an unbeaten 113 to give Mumbai control against Jammu and Kashmir in the Group A Elite Ranji Trophy match at MCA’s BKC ground on Friday.

Thakur played a counter attacking knock and steered Mumbai out of trouble in the company of subdued Tanush Kotian (58) after they were reduced to 101/7 in 28 overs, with just a lead of 15 runs. Both batters played 119 deliveries each to ensure Mumbai didn’t lose any further wickets in close to two sessions. Mumbai were 274/7 in 67 overs at stumps on Day Two with a lead of 188 runs.

Earlier J&K resuming at 174/7 added 32 runs in the morning to end at 206 all-out in 46.3 overs and get a crucial lead of 86 runs. Mumbai seamer Mohit Avasthi ended with a five-wicket haul while Thakur and Shams Mulani finished with two wickets apiece.

Openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave Mumbai a breezy start. Mumbai raced to 50 without loss in 10 overs. When it seemed a long day for J&K bowlers, with crucial one hour gone and moisture drying up, Yudhvir forced a mistake from Rohit who had gone into a shell in the last three overs. He tried to play to offside but mistimed to legside where Abid Mushtaq plucked an acrobatic catch at midwicket. Rohit made 28 runs in 35 balls.

Umar Nazir cleaned up Hardik Tamore and Jaiswal cut straight to Yawer Hassan at gully as Yudhvir extracted extra bounce to get the outer edge of the bat. Jaiswal made 26 in 54 balls with four boundaries. Yudhvir was on fire having removed Rohit and Jaiswal in quickly to put hosts under immense pressure at 57/3 inside 16 overs.

Shreyas Iyer was caught behind in the last over before lunch off Nabi. Shivam Dube completed a pair after being caught at the second slip to give Nabi a second scalp.

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane almost fell immediately after lunch getting edge down the leg off Umar but Rahane was called back as the ball was declared no ball. Runs dried up for the hosts as visitors kept testing them with probing line and length.

Rahane could not add to his score of 16 as an uppish off drive an over later was snapped up by 40-year-old Paras Dogra while diving full length to his wrong side (left). Nabi trapped Shams Mulani in front.

Baroda type fightback

From 54/0 they were reduced to 86/5 at lunch, effectively 0/5 reminiscing of the 2007-08 semifinal against Baroda where they were reduced to 0/5 in the second innings. Somebody had to play Vinayak Samant-like innings. But it soon became 101/7 with all regular batters back in the hut.

It was left to Thakur and Kotian again to do the rescue act in the second session. The duo frustrated visitors again and J&K was forced to introduce spin in the 41^st over in left-arm bowler Abid Mushtaq. Spin probably is their weak link, as Abid had bowled just one over in the first innings and the pace trio of Nabi, Yudhvir, and Nazir bowled the rest of all other overs. Later Vanshaj Sharma's left-arm spinner was introduced. He dropped Kotian twice on his own bowling and was injured in the process. The duo added 73 in 97 balls before tea.

Shardul gave impetus to the innings with three cracking boundaries in two overs to bring up his second fifty of the match and also swell Mumbai lead past 100. He was struggling and received physio attention twice inside three overs. Mumbai reached 200/7 in 48 overs and Shardul was down again with cramps, calling physio. He was cheered up by spectators who turned up in numbers for the second straight day.

Thakur kept playing shots and reached a hundred in 105 balls with a single toward leg and led grand celebrations running and posing for cameras. A fighting hundred was laced with 15 fours. Kotian brought fifty with a classy off-drive of Nabi. The duo punished visitors in the afternoon with the pitch settling, the ball becoming old and the bowlers tiring down.

Rohit shows promise but fails to capitalise

Rohit Sharma started the second innings with a bang, hitting his first-innings nemesis Umar Nazir for 14 runs including a six to force him out of the attack after just two overs. Nazir had kept him quiet in the 16 balls of the first innings before dismissing him. The straight drive for six had exquisite timing reminiscing the hitman’s heyday. Yashasvi Jaiswal played a ramp shot over wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhwan in Yudhvir Singh’s first over, as the duo seemed to put on a show in first ten overs. Rohit hit two more fluent sixes one straight and one through on side to race to mid-twenties.

The Indian skipper looked graceful while attacking but got into a shell in a bid to compact his defense which he has been found wanting in recent times in red-ball cricket. This brought his downfall as he tried to break shackles but picked the wrong length. Jaiswal also played straight to gully soon, to disappoint the fans at BKC.