CHENNAI: Shardul Thakur's maiden first-class century could not have come at a more appropriate time.
Entering the field at No 9, the 32-year-old slammed 105-ball 109 to help Mumbai bag a big lead of 207 runs over Tamil Nadu on Day 2 of the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy at the BKC complex, Mumbai on Sunday.
Mumbai were 353 for 9 in 100 overs when stumps were drawn.
Apart from Thakur, Musheer Khan's 55 and Tanush Kotian, who remained not out on 74, served Mumbai's cause and in the bargain, frustrated the visitors.
After a poor display with the bat on the opening day, Tamil Nadu had entered the second morning with hopes to put up a better show. And they did show signs of promise, after reducing the home side to 125/7 at Lunch. Ajinkya Rahane fell to R Sai Kishore's guile while Shreyas Iyer succumbed to Sandeep Warrier's raw pace.
However, Thakur's counter-attacking innings spoiled TN's plans. Thakur, who has shown glimpses of his batting talent in the white-ball format, proved that he could be counted upon as a bowling all-rounder in the red-ball format as well. Employing a positive approach, he was taking on both the seamers and spinners and was finding the gaps on the field with ease. He drove, pulled and swept with relish and was spot on with his shot selection.
"It was a good effort from Shardul. He played positively and aggressively. There were a couple of half-chances that went here and there. But he was destined to score and thus, managed to do so," Sai Kishore, captain of Tamil Nadu, said after the day's play.
Thakur continued to pile the pressure on the TN bowlers and forged two vital partnerships, which could have a bearing on the match.
Thakur first teamed up with Hardik Tamore (35) and added a crucial 105-run stand for the eighth wicket and later took Mumbai further ahead along with Kotian, adding another 79 runs for the ninth wicket.
"By the time Thakur came, the wicket became good to bat and thus, they could score runs. With the ball coming on to the bat well, it was, at times, tough to contain them,'' said Sai Kishore.
Sai Kishore tried every trick in the book to stop Mumbai. Both he and S Ajith Ram bowled outside the leg stump line to contain the run flow but found little success.
Shardul swept Ajith Ram for a boundary and later, he stepped out while facing the same bowler to cart him over the ropes. Since Sai Kishore was a lot quicker down the leg stump, he reversed-sweeped the TN skipper to delight those watching him from the stands.
His domination was such that a bowler of the calibre of Washington Sundar was just given two overs and brought again towards the end of the day's play. When he came to bowl, he could check the run flow.
''You see, the plan was to have a pacer at one end and a spinner at the other. So that's why Washy was brought later,'' Sai Kishore said.
Sai Kishore, who had figures of 6/97, did bowl his heart out and ran through Mumbai's middle-order but he could not find adequate support at the other end, especially during the final session of play.
Entering the contest with a 232-run stand for the 10th wicket in their previous match, Kotian and Deshpande (17 n.o) carried on from where they had left to put on a 63-run unbeaten stand for the 10th wicket on the day. ''Our job is to take the last wicket quickly on Monday. I hope we do well (bat to potential) for the major part of the next two days and then take it from there,'' Sai Kishore assessed.
Tamil Nadu will be hoping to turn the tide in their favour on Day 3.
Brief scores
At Mumbai: TN 146 vs Mumbai 353/9 in 100 ovs(Thakur 109, Kotian 74 batting, Musheer 55; Sai Kishore 6/97). At Nagpur: Vidarbha 170 & 13/1 in 4 ovs vs Madhya Pradesh 252 in 94.3 ovs (Himanshu 126, Saransh 30; Umesh 3/40, Y Thakur 3/51).