West Zone One-day league: Mumbai beat Maharashtra

PUNE: Run out is the best form of dismissal, they say. But Maharashtra batsmen gave the old cricket adage a whole new definition as they crashed to a 50-run defeat to Mumbai in the West Zone One-day league on Monday.
What could have been a thrilling chase, turned out to be an inept capitulation as the hosts suffered three inexplicable run outs and folded up for 205 while replying to Mumbai's competitive total of 255.The first culprit was captain Rohit Motwani himself, as he called for a non-existent single and was sent back by Vijay Zol in the 11th over.
Then, Kedar Jadhav was found short of the crease by the third umpire after he showed slight hesitation in responding to Ankit Bawne's call in the 36th over.
On both occasions, a well-set batsman fell to give a much-needed breakthrough for the opposition. As it were, Maharashtra slipped from a strong position of 143 for three. And when Prayag Bhati followed in his skipper's footsteps in the 42nd over, Maharashtra were 169 for eight and in danger of conceding a bonus point.
However, thanks to No. 10 Dominic Muthuswamy's quick-silver 26 from as many balls, Maharashtra managed to breach the cut-off mark of 204 in the penultimate over.
The maddening turn of events overshadowed two fine knocks, that of debutant Subramanian Doraiswamy for Mumbai and Ankit Bawne for Maharashtra.