Mumbai: Hosts Mumbai took up the challenge set by Railways to score at above four an over and notched up a comprehensive six-wicket victory in the four-day Group B Ranji Trophy game on Wednesday to move to the top of the table again. Set a stiff task of scoring 295 in a minimum of 70 overs after Railways declared their second innings closed at 408 for 4, the 40-time champions raced to victory with six overs to spare. Opener Akhil Herwadkar (75), who scored 145 in their first essay, and in-form batsman Shreyas Iyer (91) laid the platform with a fourth-wickert stand of 143 in 183 balls that brought down the asking rate to less than four.
Though the home team lost both these batsmen and Suryakumar Yadav, skipper Aditya Tare struck form with a fluent 71 not out and also put on an unconquered partnership of 95 for the fifth wicket in 82 minutes and 124 balls to help Mumbai win on a canter. The only time Mumbai faced some anxiety during the run-chase was when left-arm spinner Sagar Mishra caught and bowled Herwadkar, who struck 7 fours and a six in his 111-ball knock, and Yadav in successive overs.
