Mumbai strikes back with late wickets

By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, OCT. 13. Mumbai, displaying resilience typical of cricket in this part of India, fought back to finish on level terms with Rest of India on the first day of the five-day Irani Trophy at the Wankhede stadium on Friday. Last season's Ranji Trophy champion, Mumbai, reeling at 150 for six at one stage with its top batsmen back in the pavilion due to lack of experience, bounced back through strong-arm tactics by the lower order to compile a comparatively healthy 260 in the first innings after winning the toss.

If Rest still had any doubts about the fighting qualities of this depleted Mumbai side, missing six regulars from the team that won the final against Tamil Nadu in April, new ball bowlers Paras Mhambrey and Santosh Saxena struck with a vengeance in the six overs Mumbai bowled taking two quick wickets. They lured both openers Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sundar Das to their doom as the defending Irani Cup champion scrambled to 23 for two at stumps on day one.

The dramatic developments in the post-tea session are indicators of the gripping contest about to unfold if the Wankhede track continues to take turn on the second day. Rest's spin duo in the crafty Murali Kartik (four for 73) and young offspinner Sharandeep Singh (four for 55) claimed eight of the 10 Mumbai wickets. Mumbai is playing with three spinners - Nilesh Kulkarni, Rajesh Pawar and Ramesh Powar - besides an aggressive skipper in Sameer Dighe, who will be keen to explore all permissible tactics to turn the heat on the rival.

Rest openers Ramesh and Das got a taste of things to come when Mhambrey and Saxena bowled to an attacking field of four slips and a gully at the end of a hot and humid day. Ramesh, looking to be among the runs in front of the selectors played the wrong line against Saxena after having faced just three deliveries and nicked to Dighe.

Das perished in the third over, edging Mhambrey into the safe hands of Wasim Jaffer in the slips. Rest had only eight runs on board when skipper Laxman walked up to join a resolute nightwatchman Kartik (16 not out with three sweetly timed boundaries) at the crease, focussed on preventing the Mumbai bowlers from making further inroads.

Kartik's performance so far has been admirable. The left-arm spinner, who plays for Railways, bowled 19 overs on the trot in his first spell for a four-wicket haul before coming in for a mauling at the hands of the stocky Ramesh Powar (40 off 36 balls, five fours, one six) and the strapping Saxena (27 off 26 balls, four fours, one six).

Mhambrey chipped in with a timely 21 off 59 balls to boost Mumbai's total after the top order flopped, with the exception of opener Wasim Jaffer (56, 108 balls, seven fours) whose temperament and technique was admirable, even as wickets fell at the other end.

Earlier, Mumbai opted to bat on a track on which only Ashish Nehra, among the Rest bowlers, was able to trouble openers Vinayak Mane, making his first-class debut, and Jaffer. The Delhi medium-pacer demanded respect with his movement and angled deliveries across the face of the bat. Mane escaped twice when on seven, snicking Nehra with the ball travelling just short of the slip cordon.

The Mumbai openers had no trouble negotiating Dodda Ganesh and Laxmi Rattan Shukla, the other two medium-pacers pressed into the attack in the morning session by Laxman, who finally turned to spinner Kartik in the 16th over to make things happen.

Mane hoisted the fourth ball of Kartik's first over of the match into the long-on stands, but fell two balls later when giving the charge, only to be deceived by the turn. The Mumbai debutant paid for his impetuosity with wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra completing the stumping with a flourish.

Jaffer, unbeaten on 33 at the stage, opened out thereafter, hitting seven fours on his way to a strokeful 50 off 66 balls. The Mumbai opener's controlled aggression, after a watchful first session, was marked by fluent cover drives and cuts to the fence. Laxman persisted with Kartik and switched ends for Nehra, whose swing bowling kept the batsmen watchful and keeper Ratra busy. He could have got the wicket of Kiran Powar, but the ball flew between a hesitant Ratra and immobile Sadagoppan at first slip.

Powar did not last long, hitting across the line to a Kartik delivery into the hands of Laxman in the slips. The same combination could have earned Rest the important wicket of the dangerous looking Jaffer at the stroke of lunch, but Laxman dropped the catch after the spinner had the batsman beaten by the turn, with the Mumbai score reading 98 for two at lunch, Amol Muzumdar having joined Jaffer at the crease.

Rest dropped Virendra Sehwag, Abhijit Kale and Reetinder Sodhi, while Mumbai blooded 19-year-old Mane and left- handed Nishit Shetty and kept out spinner Sriram Kannan and Sushant Manjrekar.

The scores:

Mumbai: Vinayak Mane st Ratra b Kartik 19, Wasim Jaffer b Kartik 56, Kiran Powar c Laxman b Kartik 13, Amol Muzumdar lbw Ganesh 15, Nishit Shetty c Ratra b Kartik 13, Sameer Dighe c Ratra b Sharandeep 13, Paras Mhambrey c Laxman b Sharandeep 21, Ramesh Powar c Kartik bt Sharandeep 40, Rajesh Pawar c Ratra b Sharandeep 9, Nilesh Kulkarni not out 14, Santosh Saxena lbw Nehra 27. Extras 20 (b-2, lb-4, w-4, nb-10). Total: 260 in 81.5 overs.

Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-95, 3-112, 4- 114, 5-137, 6-150, 7-189, 8-214, 9-218.

Rest of India bowling: D. Ganesh 14-6-23-1, A. Nehra 14.5-3-45-1, L.R. Shukla 10-1-58-0, M. Kartik 26-5-73-4, S. Sharandeep 17-5-55-4.

Rest of India: S. Ramesh c Dighe b Saxena 4, S.S. Das c Jaffer b Mhambrey 0, M. Kartik 16 (batting), V.V.S. Laxman 2 (batting). Extras 1 (lb-1). Total: 23 for two in six overs.

Fall of wicket: 1-4, 2-8.

Mumbai bowling: P. Mhambrey 3-1-16-1, S. Saxena 2-0-6-1, N. Kulkarni 1-1-0-0.

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