Date:26/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/26/stories/2007012605922100.htm

Sport - Cricket

Brilliant win takes Mumbai to final

Nandakumar Marar

BARODA: Mumbai roared to life on day three of the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Baroda. After putting up 145 in the second innings, the visitor unleashed a pack of young hungry seamers on a Motibaug wicket assisting movement off the seam, and bowled out Baroda for 173 for a well-deserved 63-run victory.

It was an astonishing U-turn by a team, which faced relegation threat in the league phase. In the second innings, it was in deep trouble after its five top-order batsmen got out without a run on the board.

Vinayak Samant was the architect of Mumbai's victory. The wicketkeeper accumulated 66 runs in over 203 minutes of stay on a two-paced track, with Irfan Pathan in full cry.

Seamers in action

Mumbai blooded in-form seamers Abhishek Nair, Rajesh Verma, Swapnil Hazare and Wilkin Mota and they repaid the team management's faith in them with an outstanding show of sustained, accurate bowling in hot conditions to take 20 wickets in three days.

Nair (three for 38), Mota (three for 36), Verma (two for 40), Hazare (two for 41) pepped up each other so well.

Nair rocked the home team by getting rid of Connor Williams and Jacob Martin, the former edging behind and the Baroda captain beaten by late movement. Hazare got rid of the Pathan brothers, Irfan lured into a pull and Yusuf enticed into a heave. Nair returned to end Rajesh Pawar's late resistance, while Verma broke through Patel's defence to seal a great win.

Left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni had earlier responded with a marathon 145-minute stay at the crease spread over two days, defying Irfan and a fiery Rakesh Patel for the eighth wicket. The 63-run stand snatched the initiative away from Baroda and then the young seamers took over to dismiss the home side again.

Mumbai's 91-run first-innings lead gave it some breathing time, then came the hard work, breaking Baroda's resistance steadily as the home team inched closer to the target of 236.

The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: 233.

Baroda — 1st innings: 142.

Mumbai — 2nd innings: W. Jaffer c Shah b Patel 0, S. Kukreja c Pawar b I. Pathan 0, Hiken Shah c Parab b I. Pathan 0, A. Muzumdar lbw b Patel 0, R. Sharma lbw b I Pathan 0, Abhishek Nair lbw Patel 10, W. Mota c Parab b Patel 33, V. Samant c Shah b Joshi 66, N. Kulkarni c Shah b Panchal 17, R. Verma lbw b I. Pathan 4, S. Hazare (not out) 4; Extras (b-5, lb-2, nb-3, w-1): 11. Total (in 59.1 overs) 145.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, 6-17, 7-83, 8-129, 9-141.

Baroda bowling: Irfan Pathan 18.1-5-47-4, Patel 19-7-34-4, Joshi 8-1-20-1, Pawar 4-0-20-0, Yusuf Pathan 7-2-9-0, Panchal 3-0-8-1.

Baroda — 2nd innings: S. Parab lbw b Verma 13, C. Williams c Samant b Nair 17, R. Solanki b Mota 22, J. Martin b Nair 9, P. Shah c Samant b Mota 14, Irfan Pathan c Sharma b Hazare 27, Yusuf Pathan c Nair b Hazare 15, K. Panchal b Mota 25, R. Pawar lbw Nair 22, R. Patel b Verma 5, S. Joshi (not out) 0; Extras (lb-1, nb-3): 4; Total (in 51.3 overs) 173.

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-30, 3-63, 4-63, 5-93, 6-119, 7-120, 8-153, 9-171.

Mumbai bowling: Verma 12-3-40-2, Hazare 8-1-41-2, A. Nair 13-4-38-3, Mota 14.3-4-36-3, Kulkarni 4-0-17-0.