Image Credit- PTI
It appears as though
Vidarbha’s chances of taking home the Ranji Trophy for a third time are very
slim. To get within one wicket of Mumbai’s 224 on the second day, they required
a dominant batting performance. They could have been able to stay in the game
even with that, but they may have given up much too much ground after getting
bowled out for 105.
This became more apparent when Mumbai finished the day with 260 for 2, thanks
to diligent unbeaten half-centuries from Musheer Khan and Ajinkya Rahane during
an uninterrupted 107-run third-wicket stand.
When play resumed on
31 for 3, Dhawal Kulkarni looked motivated. Vidarbha faced him. In his last
Ranji Trophy match, the seasoned player increased his lead from two wickets the
previous day by taking a third, possibly as big as Karun Nair’s wicket, when he
had the highly effective Atharva Taide nicking behind with an excellent
away-swinger in the same over that he almost had him leg before wicket.
The captain, Akshay Wadkar, and nightwatcher Aditya Thakare put up a brief
fight to put up 40 for the fifth wicket. Mumbai had to work hard for their
wicket in that phase, as fast bowler Tushar Deshpande resorted to short-ball
tactics, particularly when the two displayed good technique against the seaming
ball.
The breakthrough was
provided by left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who has performed admirably for
Mumbai over the last two seasons. He had Wadkar jabbing at a delivery that
dipped and spun away, and wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore made a fine catch, after
he had first put Thakare out of his innings with an arm ball.
Offspinner Tanush Kotian entered the game at 85 for 6, quickly dispatching the
lower order as Vidarbha lost all seven of their wickets in a mere 45.3 overs
before lunch. Kulkarni ended up with 3 for 15, while Kotian and Mulani combined
for 6 for 39.
Yash Thakur gave
Vidarbha a boost when he clean bowled Prithvi Shaw with an inducker that weaved
through the bat and pad. Vidarbha was behind schedule but needed early wickets
to stay in the game. Mumbai was reduced to 34 for 2 with a 153 advantage when left-arm
spinner Harsh Dubey had Bhupen Lalwani flicking to short midwicket.
It was during this mid-session meeting that Rahane and Musheer got together.
Batting was difficult for the majority of their first hour at the crease.
Rahane was outmuscled on both ends; he frequently missed opportunities to play
and appeared very restless when defending, particularly against Umesh Yadav’s
late reversal.
Rahane appeared to
turn the corner after the interval. In order to get into his groove, he played
a stunning on-drive and then performed a great pull in front of square. Time
spent at the crease helped him gain confidence as his innings went on, and runs
started to flow. After hitting a classic flip against Aditya Sarvate at
midwicket, he brilliantly square-driven Umesh for four to record just his
second half-century of the year.
After replays showed that Rahane had gotten a thin inside edge into the pad, the
DRS prevented Rahane from being declared leg before wicket (LBW) against Dubey
on 38. That he capitalised on this break and batted calmly the rest of the day
had the entire Mumbai contingent delighted as they closed out a day of
dominance.
Rahane has never
wavered in his conviction that all it takes is one hit to change the course of
events. It appears that things are getting better after a difficult whole
season. With three full days left in the match, he would want, and Mumbai would
want, for him to go on and reach that century and beyond to bat Vidarbha out of
the match.