Jaiswal flourished, but Mumbai held back on day one

On Wednesday it was a cloudy weather with cold air and vehicles crawling on closed roads, all typical Bengaluru symptoms, M. Slow-burn cricket began at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. And in typical canine fashion, Mumbai scored 248 for five on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final after batting against Madhya Pradesh.

Prithvi Shaw (47) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (78) worked hard, and Sarfaraz Khan (40 batting) held firm while the birds returned to roam the nearby Cubbon Park. Persistence through Mumbai’s steady run and Madhya Pradesh’s four-man attack formed the formidable flavor of the day.

opening gambit

In the morning, after Mumbai captain Shaw elected to bat, his counterpart Aditya Srivastava launched the attack with left-arm spinner Kumar Karthikeya mimicking his opening gamble from the semi-final against Bengal. Shaw took a run, Jaiswal leaped forward and troubled the spinner and the first over went for five.

The duo kept the scoreboard ticking through the first season, while also surviving a run-out, leg-before-wicket appeal and a near play-and-miss routine. Seamer Anubhav Agarwal bowled the second over, and when there was some movement on offer, Shaw hit a boundary. Srivastava favored the spin and pace tropes by engaging his bowlers in short spells, while the odd sledging was also on view. There was some sustained action for the audience to savor and the weak ‘RCB’ chants also surfaced.

Shaw struggled briefly against seamer Gaurav Yadav in an over, with the accuracy of a surgeon coated with a seductive charm outside off-stump. Southpaw Jaiswal hit a boundary off off-spinner Saransh Jain and Shaw joined the party, smashing a six, followed by a back-foot punch for four against Karthikeya.

But Madhya Pradesh didn’t let the openers feel completely at home despite their 87-run stand. Shaw played the full delivery of Agarwal, the timber rattled and later at lunch, Mumbai scored 105 for one.

flattery to cheat

After the break, while Jaiswal continued on non-stop, two frequent accomplices – Armaan Jaffer and Suved Parkar – were flattered to cheat. Jaffer lobs Karthikeya and Parkar potentially one each against Jain, keeping the close. But, with Sarfaraz joining the middle, Jaiswal hits Yadav for a four. However, against the race of the game, Jaiswal’s attempt to drive Agarwal proved fatal.

Sarfaraz then faced an LBW appeal and found company in Hardik Tamor and Shams Mulani. Ironically, once the stumps were pulled, Sooraj finally peeped out as the rivals waited for another day.

Score:

Mumbai – 1st Innings: Prithvi Shaw b Agarwal 47 (79b, 5×4, 1×6), Yash Dubey b Agarwal 78 (163b, 7×4, 1×6), Armaan Jaffer c Yash Dubey b Karthikeya 26 (56b, 3×4), Suved Parkar c Aditya Srivastava b Jain 18 (30) b, 2×4), Sarfaraz Khan (batting) 40 (125b, 3×4), Hardik Tamor c Rajat Patidar b Jain 24 (44b, 3×4), Shams Mulani (batting) 12 (43b, 1×4); Extra(B-1, Lb-1, W-1): 3; Total (for five wickets. In 90 overs): 248.

Fall of wickets: 1-87 (Shaw, 27.4 ov), 2-120 (Arman 40.6), 3-147 (Parkar 50.1), 4-185 (Jaiswal 59.4), 5-228 (Tamor 74.5).

Madhya Pradesh Leaning: Kumar Karthikeya 31-6-91-1, Anubhav Agarwal 19-3-56-2, Saransh Jain 17-2-31-2, Gaurav Yadav 23-5-68-0.

Toss: Mumbai