MUMBAI: Though Mumbai fought for a while on the final day, it was always a case of ‘too little too late,’ as the 41-time champs crashed out at the quarterfinal stage of the
Ranji Trophy after suffering a humiliating innings defeat at the hands of Karnataka at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha.
Surya Kumar Yadav made 108(180b,16x4,1x6),and added 98 with all-rounder Akash Parkar (65, 186b, 11x4) for the fourth wicket, but once the latter was run out in unfortunate circumstances (he was backing up too far as the ball brushed the bowler’s hand on its way to the stumps), off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham took six for 104 to ensure Karnataka’s entry into the Ranji semis on Day Four of this contest.
Later, debutant Shivam Dube became only the third Mumbai player to take a fiver and score a fifty (71, 91b, 4x6, 7x4) on debut, but that still wasn’t enough to prevent Mumbai’s innings defeat.
Terming Sunday’s humiliating loss as “unfortunate,” former India wicketkeeper and current Mumbai coach
Sameer Dighe told TOI from Nagpur: “With a strong batting line-up like ours, we should’ve put up 500-550 in the first innings. Then, our bowlers would’ve had a chance. What can they do when you score 173? We were trying to play our natural game. We shouldn’t have done that. We needed partnership(s) in this game, and we were lacking them. And unfortunately, when they were 200 for five, and they were 25-odd ahead, Suryakumar Yadav dropped a simple catch in the slip. These things happen.”
The 49-year-old rued Mumbai’s inability to fire collectively with the bat this season. “If you see the whole season, we didn’t get 500 on the board. That would’ve made a huge difference. Out of six-seven of our batsmen, at least three should’ve clicked, which sadly didn’t happen. With the batting potential that we have, this is a worry,” he analysed.
He illustrated the case of Yadav, who hit his maiden hundred of the season in what turned out to be the last game for the domestic giants in this edition of the Ranji Trophy.
“I had a lot of hopes from him, but it’s part of the game. After the way he won us the first match against Madhya Pradesh, (he hit an unbeaten 91) I was confident about the way he was batting. I thought that this man (was the key for us). But he failed to live up to his potential,” Dighe felt.
The Mumbai coach refused to cite the lack of bowling depth and the unavailability of the likes of Shreyas Iyer and the injured Shardul Thakur as reasons for the debacle. “It’s a worry (lack of bowlers), but you’ve to get on with whatever you’ve in your hand, you’ve to get on with it. Once you’re playing for Mumbai you should be able to handle any situation,” he said. “A few players will always be never available for Mumbai. That’s not an excuse. Once you’re the middle, you’ve to compete against the best. This was a right opportunity for youngsters to make a mark in the Mumbai team,” he added.
He had a bit of advice for talented young openers Prithvi Shaw and Jay Bista, who both failed in this key game. “See, every situation is different. You’ve to learn to cover your off-stump, leave balls outside it, especially when you’re facing a senior bowler like Vinay Kumar. An opening stand of 80-90 would’ve helped us capitalise later on. Now, suddenly you were reduced to 10 for three and were out of the game. It’s better for the youngsters to learn from these mistakes soon. You can’t play your natural game every time,” he felt.
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