Kamlesh Makwana (31, 116b, 5x4) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (33, 125b, 5x4) staged a great escape to seal a Ranji Trophy knockouts berth for Saurashtra, thanks to a thrilling draw against Mumbai.
Makwana and Jadeja’s unbroken 75-run stand off 239 balls for the eighth wicket helped Saurashtra pocket three points for the first innings lead. Mumbai’s players, meanwhile, were heartbroken as their quest for regaining the Ranji title will now be prolonged by another year.
But when Saurashtra was reduced to 83 for seven on the final day after setting an improbable target of 290 runs off 74 overs, and with almost 40 overs remaining, Mumbai was gung-ho about keeping its Ranji campaign alive.
Variable bounce
The pitch at SCA stadium offered variable bounce and rare balls that turned sharply — like the one that went through the gate and bowled Arpit Vasavada, Saurashtra’s stand-in captain who was the last recognised batsman.
With the host struggling against an on-song attack — which was missing the injured Tushar Deshpande — Mumbai was favourite to walk away with six points. But Makwana and Jadeja showed their wealth of experience with a blockathon that lasted till the end.
Slice of luck
Both enjoyed a slice of luck even before scoring. While one from Shams Mulani — that kept low — missed Jadeja’s off-stump by a whisker, left-arm pacer Royston Dias — who was exceptional all through the match — squared Makwana up in the next over, the ball kissed the off-stump, the bail went up only to nestle back on to the stumps.
Then on, with the ball having softened, Jadeja and Makwana defended astutely. Despite the Mumbai fielders — with five close-in catchers besides ’keeper-captain Aditya Tare — constantly in their ears for most of the last three hours, Jadeja and Makwana hardly played a false stroke.
The only time Jadeja was enticed into a mistake — his drive resulted in a scoop off Mulani in the 54th over — Bhupen Lalwani at mid-off dropped a dolly.
In the end, the mistake cost Mumbai dear while Saurashtra entered the quarterfinals with a game to spare.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: 262.
Saurashtra — 1st innings: 335.
Mumbai — 2nd innings: Jay Bista c Desai b Bhut 46, Bhupen Lalwani c Snell b Kushang 3, Suyakumar Yadav lbw b Jadeja 134, Shams Mulani c Jadeja b Mankad 92, Sarfaraz Khan c Snell b Mankad 25, Siddhesh Lad b Jadeja 9, Aditya Tare (not out) 28, Vinayak Bhoir b Makwana 13, Shashank Attarde (not out) 1; Extras (b-5, lb-5, nb-1): 11; Total (for seven wkts. dec., 67 overs): 362.
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-124, 3-222, 4-285, 5-312, 6-322, 7-351.
Saurashtra bowling: Kushang 7-0-52-1, Mankad 11-0-52-2, Jadeja 27-0-116-2, Makwana 7-1-40-1, Bhut 9-1-48-1, Jani 6-0-44-0.
Saurashtra — 2nd innings: Harvik Desai c Bista b Mulani 24, Snell Patel c & b Attarde 0, Divyaraj Chauhan c Mulani b Attarde 0, Sheldon Jackson lbw b Mulani 11, Arpit Vasavada b Mulani 31, Chirag Jani c Tare b Attarde 0, Prerak Mankad lbw b Dias 9, Kamlesh Makwana (not out) 31, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (not out) 33; Extras (b-11, lb-7, w-1): 19; Total (for seven wkts., 74 overs): 158.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-21, 4-62, 5-65, 6-83, 7-83.
Mumbai bowling: Dias 14-8-23-1, Attarde 24-8-45-3, Mulani 22-6-47-3, Bhoir 8-4-9-0, Bista 2-1-4-0, Lad 2-2-0-0, Sarfaraz 2-0-12-0.