Ranji Trophy: Sigh of relief for Mumbai

MUMBAI: Every quality that has characterized Mumbai cricket over decades was put to test against Baroda in their 500th Ranji Trophy clash at the Wankhede Stadium throughout Sunday as they pulled off a draw against a band of boys who were given little chance when the game began four days ago.
Discipline, tenacity, grit, street-smartness and a never-say-die attitude are attributes Mumbai have displayed in abundance en route to their 41 title triumphs since 1934.With six wickets in hand and still trailing by 302 runs in the first innings at start of play, they needed all of these traits to come to the fore to salvage a single point from their momentous game.
And quite fittingly, Siddhesh Lad, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav and Dhawal Kulkarni joined hands to keep the visitors at bay in a contest that turned gripping towards the end. Baroda returned with three points on account of the first innings lead, but, the fightback that the hosts mounted over the course of the day was truly commendable.
SURROUNDED: With the overs running out, Baroda, who were trying for an outright win, had nine fielders close to the bat of tail-ender Dhawal Kulkarni in the Ranji Trophy match at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Mumbai, who have won the title 41 times, survived the day to escape with a draw. (PTI Photo)
Lad was the most impressive of the lot, staying unbeaten on 71off 238 balls with Kulkarni standing undefeated on 2off 31balls. Nayar, on the other hand played 108 balls for his eight runs, before getting out to debutant off-spinner Kartik Kakade, caught by wicketkeeper Mitesh Patel. Lad and Nayar put on 50 runs for the seventh wicket off 34.5 overs.
Lad, though enjoyed a narrow escape on 57 when he was caught off a no ball. He attempted a rather uncharacteristic pull off leg-spinner Swapnil Singh and was caught at mid wicket. But as luck would have it, it was not a legal delivery. He struck seven boundaries and played out 11 overs in Kulkarni's company.
During this phase Baroda attacked relentlessly through their spinners, putting all their fielders in catching positions around the bat. But, the duo held on doggedly as Mumbai ended proceedings on 260-7. As things stand, Mumbai are placed third in Group C with 11 points, behind Andhra Pradesh (18 points) and Madhya Pradesh (14 points). They will take on Andhra in the next round.
Earlier, Rahane and Yadav took guard in the morning with a single point agenda: stay put at the crease for as long as possible and cut out all risks. It was time for the grind, and the situation called for watchfulness. The experienced duo did precisely that for about 20 overs before Rahane was bowled by Singh with Mumbai's score on 125. Singh, who had got rid of the in-form opener Prithvi Shaw on Saturday, pitched the ball up and Rahane got out attempting to cut off his back foot. He scored 45 and faced 134 balls during his stay at the crease.
Yadav was joined by Lad and the duo continued to exercise caution before they were separated on the last ball of the 75th over after putting on 79 runs. They had stuck it out for 26.5 overs together, forcing skipper Deepak Hooda, a parttime off-spinner, to roll his arm over. And to his glee, he extracted sharp spin that Yadav failed to read while attempting a cut off his back foot and was bowled for 44. He consumed 132 balls during his stay and struck four boundaries.
RANJI SCORES ROUND 5, DAY 4
GROUP A
In Guwahati: Uttar Pradesh 349 & 357/6 decl in 86.4 ovs (U Sharma 148, Md Saif 77). Assam 318 & 148/4 in 55 ovs (SA Roy 62, G Sharma 62; Saurabh Kumar 3/52). Match drawn (UP 3 pts Assam 1) In Pune (Gahunje): Maharashtra 481 &186/6 decl in 37 ovs (N Shaikh 40; K Thakur 3/430. Railways 381in 131.2 ovs ( AGhosh 45) & 54/1in 18 ovs. Match drawn. (Maharashtra 3 pts, Rlys 1) In Alur: Karnataka 649 & 235/3 in 63 ovs (KL Rahul 92, R Samarth 47). Delhi 301in 95 ovs (G Gambhir 145; A Mithun 5/50). Match drawn (Karnataka 3 pts, Delhi 1) Points tally: Karnataka (23 pts, 4 matches); Delhi (17/4); Railways (14/5); Maharashta (10/4), Hyderabad (9/4), UP (4/5), Assam (2/4)
GROUP B
In Jamshedpur: J&K 376 & 265/9 decl in 63.5 ovs. Jharkhand 292/9 decl 7 & 243 in 49.4 ovs (I Kishan 52, Utkarsh Singh 47, S Nadeem 53; P Rasool 5/99, A Aziz 5/63). J&K won by 106 runs (J&K 6 pts, Jharkhand 0) In Lahli: Haryana 223 & 179/5 decl in 55 ovs. Rajasthan 150 & 59/7 in 39 ovs (H Patel 3/29, A Hooda 3/8). Match drawn (Haryana 3 pts, Rajasthan 1) In Rajkot: Saurashtra 570 & 98/1in 30.3 ovs (R Uthappa 64*). Gujarat 413 in 145.1ovs (R Bhatt 107; J Unadkat 4/83). Match drawn (Saurashtra 3 pts, Gujarat 1) Points tally: Saurashtra (23/4), Gujarat (20/4), Kerala (18/4), J&K (9/5), Jharkhand (8/5); Rajasthan (5/4), Haryana 3/4)
GROUP C
In Agartala: Andhra 402 & 234/4 decl in 46 ovs (KS Bharat 50, A Hebbar 44; R Dutta 3/43. Tripura 315 & 272/5 in 56 ovs (U Bose 53, S Patel 107*). Match drawn (Andhra 3 pts, Tripura 1) In Cuttack (DRIEMS ground): Tamil Nadu 530/8 decl in 90 ovs. Odisha 533/9 in 187.1ovs (S Pattnaik 66, N Behera 91, S Mishra 71, B Samantray 50, R Dhuper 97, S Pradhan 43; W Sundar 4/95, Y Mahesh 3/60). Match drawn (Odisha 3, TN 1) In Mumbai: Mumbai 171& 260/7 in 120.4 ovs (A Rahane 45, S Yadav 44, S Lad 71*). Baroda 575/9 decl in 180 ovs. Match drawn (Baroda 3 pts, Mumbai 1) Points tally: Andhra (18/5), MP (14/4), Mumbai (11/4), TN (8/4), Baroda (7/4), Odisha (5/4), Tripura (4/5)
GROUP D
In Dharamshala: Chhattisgarh bt Himachal by an innings and 114 runs. (Chhattisgarh 7 pts, HP 0) In New Delhi (Palam): Services 263 & 190 in 55.4 ovs (R Chauhan 55; D Misal 7/68). Goa 270 & 128/4 in 50 ovs (S Kamat 57*). Match drawn (Goa 3 pts, Services 1) In Kalyani: Vidarbha 499 & 18/0 in 1.3 ovs. Bengal 207 & f/o 306 101.4 ovs (S Chatterjee 82, M Tiwary 43, W Saha 97; L Yadav 4/44, Sarwate 3/59). Vidarbha won by 10 wkts (Vidarbha 7 pts, Bengal 0) Points tally: Vidarbha (21/4), Punjab (15/4), Himachal (13/5), Bengal (13/4), Chhattisgarh (13/5), Goa (5/4), Services (2/4)