Tushar Deshpande picked up a fifer to bowl out Tamil Nadu for 144 runs before Mumbai ended Day 1 with a lead of 39 runs.
On the eve of its crucial Ranji Trophy fixture against Tamil Nadu, Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane had a discussion with his team-mates on approaching a game session by session.
At the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday, Tushar Deshpande took his captain’s advice seriously and dominated the first session with a five-for (5 for 37) as Mumbai restricted Tamil Nadu to 144 in the first innings.
Though the visiting side put up a strong fight in the post-tea session with Aswin Crist’s short-pitched deliveries claiming the wickets of captain Rahane and Hardik Tamore in quick succession, Sarfaraz Khan remained unbeaten on 46 to guide Mumbai to 183-6 at stumps on Day One, with a slender lead of 39.
On a surface that aided the seamers, Mumbai won the toss and put Tamil Nadu in to bat – a decision that proved effective as Deshpande and Mohit Avasthi made the most of the conditions. Abasti batted on the fourth pitch of his first over when Sai Sudarshan was caught by Tamore on a duck. A few minutes later, a communication error between N. Jagadeethan and Sai Kishore caused Sai Ki Shore to disappear, leaving Tamil Nadu to his 2-5 lead.
The burden fell on Jagadeesan and Baba Aparajit, but Deshpande struck the latter down the middle as the touring side lost the top three wickets for 22 runs in the first seven overs.
However, Mumbai’s bowlers are not happy with the status quo, having learned a lesson from their previous loss to Saurashtra. Deshpande claimed the third wicket when Jagadeesan advanced to the second slip and provided a fairly easy catch for Prithvi Shaw for just 23 runs.
With Deshpande held at one end and clearly Mumbai’s bowling his hero of the season, Shyamsumrani (3 for 3), Vijay cleared his Shankar for his 18 and he and Pradsh his Ranjan. ended his 22-run tie between the poles of
Tamil Nadu could not have crossed his 100-run mark without Murani and Deshpande tightening the noose and Paul not moving up from 55 in a bold innings off his 75 pitches. Arriving when his team needed some stability, Paul started aggressively in a series of boundaries but lacked support from the other side as Tamil Nadu’s innings fell just after lunch. so his efforts were in vain.
Mumbai got off to a nervous start as his debutant H Triloknag (2-58) held off Yashas Vijayswal and Armand Jafar in his first four overs. Nag made his presence felt as an understudy for Sandeep Warrior, who was suffering from a fever, and his two layoffs were made up by substitute Kavin Ravi, who replaced regular Jagadeesan, who had been off the field for some time. was broken.
However, Mumbai slowly returned to the game and between captains Rahane and Shaw he scored 67 runs. With both batsmen playing aggressively, the home side was able to put the pressure back on Tamil Nadu before Shaw was overtaken by Christo with 35 of 33 deliveries. And Rahane, looking perfect after hitting a few direct his drives to the limit with 43-ball 42-knocks, fell quickly off the tee. In an attempt to cut Christo off, Rahane ended up offering a catch to Trilok Nag at Deep Point. Moments later, in addition to Mumbai’s troubles, another short delivery from Christo saw Tamore stuck in a square leg by Baba Indrajit.
Things looked difficult as they took 113 for five wickets but the experienced Sarfaraz kept his cool and built a crucial 48-run stance with Murani to help the hosts take a narrow lead. .
Realizing that a mistake here would cost the team a lot, Sarfaraz took the time to let Mulani push some boundaries.
Without that partnership, things could have been difficult for Mumbai, and just as the Tamil Nadu bowler seemed to be struggling to find a breakthrough, Sai Kishore Mulani had earlier stepped up. However, with Sarfaraz standing firm, Mumbai finished the day without further trouble.