Ranji Trophy 2024 semis: Mumbai bowlers floor Tamil Nadu
Mumbai bowlers were exceptional on Day 1 against Tamil Nadu in the 2024 Ranji Trophy semi-finals on Saturday. The hosts were on top as the pacers pushed Tamil Nadu on the back foot before the spinners joined in and completed the job. They bundled out the visitors for a paltry 146 runs in the first innings. Here's more.
Deshpande was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai
Although Tushar Deshpande joined the attack as the first change bowler, he made the new ball talk by removing Pradosh Ranjan Paul in the ninth over. A couple of overs later, he knocked over Tamil Nadu skipper Sai Kishore. However, the most prized wicket for him was when he dismissed the in-form Baba Indrajith. Deshpande has scalped 13 wickets in the 2024 Ranji Trophy.
Brilliant opening spell from Shardul
Shardul Thakur gave Mumbai a dream start when he dismissed Sai Sudharsan in the very first over of the match. He kept bowling in the right channels and gave nothing away. He was finally rewarded for his good work when he removed the well-settled Vijay Shankar. Shardul finished with figures of 2/48 as he has claimed 13 wickets this season from four matches.
A look at the other bowlers
Mohit Avasthi also made good use of the new ball and scalped the wicket of Narayan Jagadeesan. He returned with 1/23. The spinners, Musheer Khan and Tanush Kotian, came into action later in the game and claimed 2/18 and 2/10 respectively to clean up the tail. Surprisingly, Shams Mulani was the only bowler to return without a wicket.
Here's the summary of the Tamil Nadu innings
Batting first, Tamil Nadu were rocked back by some exquisite pace bowling exhibition from the Mumbai seamers. The visitors were reduced to 17/4. Indrajith and Shankar added 25 runs before the former perished. Later, Shankar stitched up a 48-run partnership with Washington Sundar. Eventually, Tamil Nadu could only reach a total of 146 courtesy of contributions from Shankar and Sundar. Deshpande starred with 3/24.
A look at Deshpande and Shardul's numbers in FC cricket
With this 3/24, Deshpande has raced to 95 wickets in 35 First-Class matches at an average below 30. He has claimed five fifers and four four-wicket hauls in red-ball cricket. Meanwhile, Shardul reached 260 wickets in 81 First-Class matches at an average around 29. The speedster has returned with 14 fifers and 12 four-wicket hauls in this format.