Sport - Cricket

Remarkable rally by Mumbai

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

SPIRITED EFFORT: Sahil Kukreja played a solid knock for host Mumbai against Delhi.

Mumbai: The host and the defending champion Mumbai refused to buckle under pressure and staged a remarkable rally against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group ‘A’ match at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

With its back to the wall, Amol Muzumdar’s team stuck to the basics in the bowling department and prevented the flow of runs in the crucial opening 75 minutes of play. Thereafter it controlled the proceedings, dismissed Delhi for 251 and at close was 69 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand.

Sahil Kukreja playing the vanguard role to near perfection is at the crease on a sparkling 89 with 13 solid hits to the fence. With six full sessions and 180 overs remaining to be played, match has taken the contour of a fascinating contest that Muzumdar had predicted on the eve of the match.

Though Rohit Sharma was off target in the first over while essaying a direct hit to run out Gautam Gambhir, Mumbai did not suffer much from the blade of the left-hander. Gambhir was kept quiet by Avishkar Salvi and Abhishek Nayar. He found the fence twice, once edging Nayar and then whipping Salvi to the mid-wicket, but Nayar trapped the opener on the shuffle.

Rajat Bhatia and Puneet Bisht stayed together for nearly nineteen overs and added a valuable 63 runs before tyro leg-spinner Bhavesh Patel induced Bisht to drive into the hands of Muzumdar at cover and celebrated his first first-class wicket.

Ajit Agarkar who was off colour with the new ball on the opening day, was quite superb in his second and third spells and accounted for Bhatia. He was on a hat-trick after removing Pradeep Sangwan, but Ishant Sharma denied him the honour. The Delhi first innings folded up around half-an-hour after lunch.

The Mumbai openers, Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane wiped out the arrears in the 20th over. The left-arm seamer, Sangwan, dismissed Rahane. Prashant Naik struck a super on-drive off Sangwan to begin his innings and immediately survived a difficult chance to Virat Kohli at gully.

Delhi’s catching was bad; first Aakash Chopra dropped a sitter at second slip when Rahane was on four and thereafter off-spinner Narinder Singh failed to control a catch of his own bowling when Kukreja was on 79.

Kukreja’s stroke making on either side of the wicket with drives, cuts and pulls was an outstanding feature from the post lunch session. But he cut out all the frills in the last half-an-hour.

Mumbai — 1st innings: 166.

Delhi — 1st innings: A. Chopra lbw b Salvi 12, G. Gambhir lbw b Nayar 89, V. Sehwag c Samant b Nayar 16, V. Kohli c Samant b Salvi 19, M. Manhas (run out) 4, R. Bhatia c Samant b Agarkar 49, P. Bisht c Muzumdar b Patel 35, Narinder Singh (run out) 1, C. Nanda c Samant b Salvi 9, P. Sangwan c Kukreja b Agarkar 0, I. Sharma (not out) 3; Extras (lb-9, nb-5) 14; Total (in 86.4 overs) 251.

Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-76, 3-127, 4-133, 5-169, 6-232, 7-237, 8-238, 9-238.

Mumbai bowling: Agarkar 17-5-52-2, Salvi 20.4-5-44-3, Nayar 23-8-52-2, Powar 14-1-62-0, Patel 9-2-25-1, R. Sharma 3-0-7-0.

Mumbai — 2nd Innings: S. Kukreja (batting) 89, A. Rahane c Bisht b Sangwan 20, P. Naik lbw b Narinder 23, A. Muzumdar (batting) 2; Extras (b-14, nb-4, w-2) 20; Total (for two wkts. in 44 overs) 154.

Fall of wickets: 1-91, 2-137.

Delhi bowling: Sangwan 11-2-52-1, Sharma 11-4-20-0, Bhatia 3-1-7-0, Nanda 10-1-36-0, Sehwag 3-0-9-0, Narinder 6-1-16-1.

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