Ranji Trophy: Disciplined MP keep Mumbai at 248/5 on Day 1

Despite
an
opening
stand
of
87
between
Prithvi
Shaw
(47,
79
balls)
and
Yashasvi
Jaiswal
(78,
163
balls),
Mumbai
failed
to
drive
home
the
advantage
on
a
pitch
that
wasn’t
conducive
for
strokeplay.

A
400-plus
first-innings
total
will
now
depend
on
the
season’s
highest
run-getter
Sarfaraz
Khan
(40
batting,
125
balls),
who
is
looking
good
for
another
big
knock
with
the
dependable
Shams
Mulani
(12
batting,
43
balls)
giving
him
company.

While
left-arm
spinner
Kumar
Kartikeya
was
the
tireless
operator
from
one
end,
having
sent
down
31
overs
for
figures
of
1
for
91,
seamer
Gaurav
Yadav
(23-5-68-0)
was
distinctly
unlucky
and
the
wickets
column
don’t
reflect
the
relentless
pressure
that
he
put
on
Mumbai
batters,
especially
skipper
Shaw.

In
fact,
it
was
the
pressure
applied
by
Yadav
which
helped
nippy
seamer
Anubhav
Agarwal
(19-3-56-2)
and
tall
off-spinner
Saransh
Jain
(17-2-31-2)
to
share
the
bulk
of
the
spoils,
with
some
intelligent
execution
of
plans.

Mumbai
did
enjoy
the
advantage
during
the
first
hour
after
Shaw
opted
to
bat
and,
along
with
Jaiswal,
took
on
the
MP
attack.
The
strategy
to
start
with
Kartikeya’s
slow
left-arm
orthodox
seemed
to
have
backfired
when
Jaiswal
took
him
on
and
lofted
him
over
long-on
for
a
six.

Shaw
followed
suit
and
hit
Kartikeya
over
long-off
for
a
six
as
they
added
87
for
the
first
wicket.
But
while
Jaiswal,
with
his
drives
and
upper
cuts,
looked
to
continue
from
where
he
left
in
the
semi-final,
Shaw,
despite
his
seven
fours
(at
least
three
of
them
behind
square)
looked
edgy.

Both
the
seamers,
Anubhav
and
Gaurav,
got
some
movement
in
the
air
with
a
nice
cloud
cover
helping
their
cause.
They
also
hit
the
perfect
length
with
movement
off
the
pitch
in
both
directions,
into
and
away
from
the
batter.
Both
look
run
of
the
mill
medium
pacers
but
are
deceptively
quicker
than
they
actually
look.

In
fact,
the
best
over
of
the
first
day
was
the
12th
of
the
Mumbai
innings
when
Gaurav
first
cut
Shaw
into
half
with
a
massive
in-cutter
and
then
bowled
the
outgoing
deliveries,
beating
the
bat
as
many
as
five
times
in
six
balls.
By
the
end
of
the
over,
he
was
in
his
hunches.

Jaiswal,
at
the
other
end,
scored
his
first
30
runs
in
52
balls,
but
then,
gauging
the
two-paced
nature
of
the
pitch,
started
playing
more
cautiously.
His
next
48
runs
came
in
another
111
deliveries.
The
first
breakthrough
came
minutes
before
lunch
break
when
Anubhav,
who
was
bowling
closer
to
the
stumps,
decided
to
move
slightly
wide
and
fired
in
a
couple
of
deliveries
with
the
angle.

While
Shaw
managed
to
defend
one,
the
second
delivery
saw
him
play
across
the
line
and
the
stumps
rattled.
Arman
Jaffer
(26
off
56
balls)
looked
solid
till
he
tried
a
forward-defensive
jab
off
Kartikeya,
without
factoring
in
the
extra
bounce,
and
the
ball
took
an
inside
edge
off
his
bat
and
Yash
Dubey,
at
short
mid-wicket,
completed
a
diving
catch.

The
pitch
in
the
second
session
slowed
down
considerably
and
Suved
Parkar
(18)
paid
the
price
when
a
delivery
from
Saransh
stopped
on
him
and
the
leading
edge
off
closed
bat
face
just
lobbed
up
for
the
easiest
of
catches
for
rival
captain
Aditya
Shrivastava.

The
dismissal
that
was
most
well-planned
was
that
of
Jaiswal,
who
was
closing
in
on
a
fourth
hundred
of
the
season.
Anubhav,
who
had
started
operating
wide
of
the
crease,
started
cramping
the
left-hander
for
room.
As
he
was
finding
it
difficult
to
get
the
boundaries,
Jaiswal,
without
much
room,
tried
the
square
cut
but
failed
to
keep
it
down
and
Dubey
at
gully
took
a
sharp
low
catch.

Hardik
Tamore
(24)
was
living
dangerously
till
Saransh
got
some
drift
and
the
delivery
straightened
after
pitching,
taking
the
outside
edge
into
Rajat
Patidar’s
hands
in
the
first
slip.