Kedar Jadhav (128, 168b, 18×4, 1×6) made the most of his rest early in the innings to close out his second century of the season and take Maharashtra to 314-6 in the all-important Ranji Trophy Elite Group B against Mumbai. took the lead.
Since returning to domestic cricket after the break, Jadhav has been in excellent shape with his 283, 56 and 71 points.
The veteran contender continued his momentum at Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday, coming into the plate in challenging conditions after losing his two early wickets from Pavanshah and Naushad Sheikh by just 23.
It took some getting used to, and after initially helping sailors on a relaxed surface, Siddesh he forged a crucial 105-run partnership with Bier (48, 113b, 8×4).
Jadhav had luck with his 37, but Suved Parkar dropped him on his Tushar Deshpande’s first slip and Jadhav fought back through cover on the next ball boundary. While Beer played defensively, Jadav cut and drove fluidly, scoring a gritty half-century just before lunch.
Mumbai stunned Prasad Pawar’s delivery of Shams Murani in the after-lunch session and Avasti struck when he put away captain Ankit Bone for a singles run, but Kedar stood his ground. and advanced the 16th first-class 100 at Margin Siddharth.
Maharashtra appeared to be firmly in control of the game, adding 96 runs for the fifth wicket when Jadhav and Azim Kazi were held back by Murani’s delivery. Losing momentum, Jadhav tried to play a hook his shot off his Deshpande bouncer but eventually he provided Raut with a great leg his catch.
But Maharashtra’s lower middle class resisted. Saurabh Nawale (56 n.o., 67b, 9x4s) and Ashay Palkar (32 n.o., 62b, 5x4s) pushed for the lead from the first innings and went into the quarter to build an unbroken partnership of 87 runs. Naware played aggressively on the way to his fast half-century, engineering the innings on the ninth boundary to keep Mumbai at bay.
In the absence of Sarfaraz Khan, who is suffering from viral fever, Mumbai’s bowling decision took a hit when they failed to capitalize on a positive start and spinner Tanoush Kotian was forced off the field after being hit in the hand. So it backfired. He was taken to the hospital, where he received six stitches, leaving him in doubt for the rest of his bout.