Summary Forty-time Ranji Trophy winners Mumbai responded aptly to Rest to India on the 2nd day of Irani Cup.
MUMBAI: Forty-time Ranji Trophy winners Mumbai responded aptly to Rest to India on the second day of the Irani Cup, finishing on 155/2 at close of play in reply to the visitors’ first innings 526. The dependable veteran Wasim Jaffer (80) and opener Ajinkya Rahane (55*) combined for 132 runs for the second wicket, after Suresh Raina’s 11th First Class century had allowed Rest to cross 500 in the morning session.
Mumbai trail by 371 with eight wickets in hand. They still have Rahane in the middle, and Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar waiting in the wings. With the pitch harbouring no ill intent towards batsmen, the hosts would look to inch closer to Rest and gain the all-important first innings lead. But that s easier said than done against an attack comprising four bowlers to have played Tests for India.
Earlier, Raina (134), in conjunction with Abhimanyu Mithun’s daredevilry, bullied Mumbai’s spineless bowling sans mercy before lunch. The two added 153 in 28 overs for the seventh wicket. Raina resumed on 36 and saw through Harbhajan Singh’s dismissal after the off-spinnner had begun with a streak of boundaries.
Harbhajan perished to a leading edge that was taken by an alert Nayar lunging forward from cover. Shardul Thakur came on and was smashed straight past the stumps by Raina. A pulled single off the next ball gave the left-hander his 35th first class half-century.
Nayar was introduced for the breakthrough in the 15th over of the morning, as Thakur reverted to his Ranji ways, spraying it wide as a matter of habit. Rohit Sharma came on and was greeted by Raina with a boundary guided past slip, a punch over mid-wicket, and then an inside-out biff over cover.
