12 November,2011 01:58 AM IST | | Sanjib Guha
The sayingu00a0-- fast bowlers hunt in pairsu00a0-- held true for Rajasthan yesterday when Pankaj Singh and Deepak Chahar made life difficult for 39-time champions Mumbai on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match at the Cricket Club of India.
Rajasthan's Deepak Chahar at the Brabourne Stadium yesterday.
Pic/Suresh KK
Rajasthan skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar left the field following a well-made 141. Thanks to No 11 Pankaj's whirlwind 34 off 20 and Gajendra Singh's gritty 31, Rajasthan posted a mammoth 530. At the close of play, Mumbai were 104-2 with skipper Wasim Jaffer (17) and Kaustubh Pawar (0) back in the hut. Pankaj snared both Mumbai wickets.
Mumbai's hopes now rest on Rohit Sharma (55 not out) and Abhishek Nayar (32 not out)
Chahar didn't get wicket, but his consistent line earned praise from all, and most importantly, former national selector Kiran More, who was present at the venue. "Pankaj was outstanding, but I was impressed with Chahar as even on this sort of a flat track, he kept on probing the batsmen and never allowed them to settle," More told MiD DAY.
Chahar shot into limelight last season with a record haul of 8-10 against Hyderabad in their Ranji opener. Coach Amit Asawa said: "He has improved a lot and will improve further. He has a great attitude and never gets bogs down under pressure."
