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Shivakant Shukla holds fort for Uttar Pradesh
| Mumbai lower order helps the team make 402 in the first innings |
IN THE THICK OF ACTION: Zaheer Khan (third from left) played a cameo with the bat and then bowled a superb spell on day two of the Ranji final.
HYDERABAD: It has been a forgetful Ranji Trophy final thus far for Mumbai’s Ajinkya Rahane, the second highest run-getter in the tournament this season after his captain Wasim Jaffer.
He failed with the bat on day one and then on Tuesday he dropped a difficult chance offered by the Uttar Pradesh opener Shivakant Shukla. Rahane failed to latch on to the sharp chance at backward point off Ajit Agarkar when Shivakant flashed outside the off-stump.
Could prove costlyShivakant was on 18 then and the team score read 48 for two. The lapse could prove costly given the reputation Shivakant has earned after his epic effort against Tamil Nadu in the semifinal.
At stumps on the second day, Uttar Pradesh was 91 for three in reply to Mumbai’s first innings score of 402 with Shivakant holding one end up.
It could have been more disappointing for Mumbai had Zaheer not earned a caught behind decision in the final session to send back U.P. captain Mohd. Kaif, a verdict which saw the batsman ponder for a while before walking back dejectedly to the pavilion.
The fortunes now inevitably revolve around the class of Shivakant, who in the company of Kaif added 85 runs for the third wicket, to rescue U.P. which had lost two wickets with just six runs on the board.
Shivakant (46 batting, 136b, 7x4) was joined by Parvinder Singh towards the close, the pair which scripted a magnificent comeback against Tamil Nadu in the semifinal.
Bad startIt was a dismal start for Uttar Pradesh. First, opener Tanmay Srivastava was caught behind, trying to take evasive action, off a lifting delivery from Zaheer Khan.
Then, southpaw Suresh Raina was unnecessarily run out trying to take a sharp single off the very first ball he faced. Sairaj Bahutule swiftly ran in from mid-off to rattle the stumps with a direct hit to the bowler’s end. Though Raina dived full-length, the bat was in the air and he was ruled out by the third umpire.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma (141, 258b, 21x4) looked good to carry on before he charged left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta only to see the leading edge ballooning to point. Ramesh Powar hit the next ball straight to mid-on. Mumbai still managed to cross the 400-mark, thanks to U.P. wicketkeeper Mohd. Amir Khan who dropped a regulation catch after R.P. Singh squared up Zaheer when he was on five and Mumbai on 363 for nine.
The scores:
Mumbai — 1st innings: V.R. Samant lbw b Bhuvneshwar 26, W. Jaffer lbw b Bhuvneshwar 1, A. Rahane lbw b R.P. Singh 23, S. Tendulkar c Shukla b Bhuvneshwar 0, R. Sharma c Parvinder b Praveen Gupta 141, A. Nayar lbw b Bhuvneshwar 99, S. Bahutule c Khan b Bhuvneshwar 0, A. Agarkar c & b R.P. Singh 47, R. Powar c Chawla b Praveen Gupta 0, Zaheer c Parvinder b R.P. Singh 33, D. Kulkarni (not out) 11; Extras (b-8, lb-6, nb-5, w-2): 21; Total (in 131 overs): 402.
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-42, 3-55, 4-55, 5-262, 6-262, 7-344, 8-344, 9-358.
Uttar Pradesh bowling: Praveen Kumar 33-7-85-0, Bhuvneshwar 31-10-78-5, R.P. Singh 27-3-100-3, Parvinder 8-2-29-0, Chawla 15-2-57-0, Praveen Gupta 15-6-29-2, Raina 2-0-10-0.
Uttar Pradesh — 1st innings: Tanmay Srivastava c Samant b Zaheer 6, Shivakant Shukla (batting) 46, S. Raina (run out) 0, Mohd. Kaif c Samant b Zaheer 33, Parvinder Singh (batting) 0; Extras (lb-1, w-1, nb-4): 6; Total (for three wkts. in 47 overs): 91.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-6, 3-91.
Mumbai bowling: Zaheer 13-10-11-2, Kulkarni 8-4-24-0, Agarkar 8-3-25-0, Powar 8-2-11-0, Nayar 5-3-6-0, Bahutule 5-2-13-0.
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