Mumbai, Jan 31: Mumbai established a commanding 585-run first-innings lead and made significant progress against Meghalaya, while Jammu and Kashmir secured a vital 205-run advantage over Baroda in their respective Group A Ranji Trophy matches on Friday.
Mumbai’s captain, Ajinkya Rahane, narrowly missed out on a century, but remarkable first-class hundreds from Akash Anand (103) and Shams Mulani (100 not out), combined with Siddhesh Lad’s impressive 145 and fifties from Shardul Thakur (84) and Suryansh Shedge (61), propelled the hosts to a formidable total of 671 for seven declared in their first innings.
Meghalaya, who struggled in the first innings with just 86 runs, ended the second day at 27/2, trailing by 558 runs as Mumbai pushed closer to a significant victory to secure their quarterfinal spot.
With a place in the quarterfinals on the line, the defending champions adopted a cautious strategy, opting to bat throughout the entirety of the second day to pursue an outright win.
The day, however, began poorly for the hosts as Rahane fell just four runs shy of his season’s first century, edging a delivery from MD Nafees to Arpit Subhas after being tested several times.
Lad celebrated his second ton of the season, scoring 145 runs off 250 balls, featuring 17 fours and one six, but ultimately fell short when he hit a straightforward catch to Kishan Lyndoh at short midwicket from an innocuous delivery by Anish Charak (2/185).
The partnership between Rahane and Lad yielded 196 runs, which was succeeded by an 87-run partnership between Lad and Anand for the fourth wicket, and another partnership of 123 runs between Suryansh Shedge and Anand for the fifth.
Thakur then unleashed a ferocious 42-ball 84, smashing five sixes and nine fours, adding a remarkable 156 runs for the seventh wicket with Mulani in just 99 balls. Mumbai declared after Mulani achieved his century, finishing with an unbeaten 100 runs off 86 balls.
In another Group A encounter in Vadodara, Jammu and Kashmir took the lead against Baroda, whom they had recently displaced from the top of the points table with a victory over Mumbai.
J&K displayed excellent bowling to bowl out Baroda for just 166 runs, accumulating an 80-run first-innings lead. By the end of play, J&K’s lead had expanded to 205 runs, with opener Shubham Khajuria, who had previously taken three wickets for 47 runs, remaining not out at 67 off 115 balls.
Meanwhile, in Cuttack, Odisha conceded a narrow 19-run first-innings lead but ended the day at 167 for three, holding a 148-run advantage over Services, with Aashirwad Swain on 64 not out.
In Solapur, Siddhesh Veer’s unbeaten 93 and Yash Kshirsagar’s 71 guided Maharashtra to 235/3 against Tripura, who were bowled out for 270 in their first innings.
Brief scores: At Mumbai: Meghalaya 86 & 27/2 vs Mumbai 671/7 declared in 140.5 overs (Siddhesh Lad 145, Ajinkya Rahane 96, Akash Anand 103, Suryansh Shedge 61, Shams Mulani 100*, Shardul Thakur 84; Himan Phukan 3/144).
At Vadodara: Jammu and Kashmir 246 & 125/1 in 41 overs (Shubham Khajuria 67*) vs Baroda 166 in 62.1 overs (Shivalik Sharma 64; Sahil Lotra 4/26, Abid Mushtaq 3/56, Shubham Khajuria 3/47).
At Cuttack: Odisha 180 & 167/3 (Aashirwad Swain 64*; Pulkit Narang 1/22) vs Services 199 (Ravi Chauhan 120; Rajesh Mohanty 5/68, Tapas Kumar Das 3/57, Sunil Kumar Roul 2/57).
At Solapur: Tripura 270 in 101.2 overs (S Sharath 71; Rajneesh Gurbani 4/37, Hitesh Walunj 4/67) vs Maharashtra 235/3 in 72 overs (Siddhesh Veer 93*; Yash Kshirsagar 71). (Agencies)
