RAIPUR: The writing was on the wall. Mumbai were almost assured of a win after Day 4 of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, when they reduced Hyderabad for 121/7. The only question 41-time champions’ bowlers would have asked themselves was when?
However, Hyderabad batsmen B Anirudh (82) and Chama Milind (29) had a prolonged stay at the wicket, and played out of their skins to take their team to 185 runs without further loss. With no batting to follow, all rested on the duo’s shoulders. In that time, both played their shots, and ran well between the wickets, giving their dressing room something to cheer about.
But one mistake from Milind — he edged behind off Abhishek Nayar — and it was all over for Hyderabad. Mohammed Siraj and Ravi Kiran were no match for the all-rounder.
Head coach Bharathi Arun lamented on what could have been. “Today, we got Mumbai under pressure. If we had someone like Kolla Sumanth out there, it could have been a different ball-game. Anyways, we punched above our weight and made Mumbai toil for five days.”
For Mumbai, it was their most experienced campaigner, Nayar, who took them past the finish line. It required a special effort from the 33-year-old to pick up the last three wickets, with previous day’s hero Vijay Gohil proving ineffective. Fast bowlers Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande too, didn’t have much to offer. Nayar, though, ended with figures of 5/40.
Skipper Aditya Tare was expecting his players to stand up, and Nayar produced the goods for him. “Hyderabad came hard at us. Partnership between both left-handers was crucial. But Nayar stood up and finished the match for us,” said Tare.
Despite the win, coach Chandrakant Pandit didn’t seem impressed with his team throughout the match, and in fact the whole season. He had words of praise for the Hyderabad team, though. “All three Hyderabad pacers bowled really well, utilising conditions effectively. That was key to their success, and we could’ve done the same. Last year, all our batsmen scored big, but it has been a problem this time,” said Pandit.
With Mumbai taking on Tamil Nadu in the semifinals, Pandit wants his team to click together, and focus on improving batting.
madhav@newindianexpress.com