Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Mumbai’s Shams Mulani spins Odisha into oblivion with 11 wickets

Mumbai’s Shams Mulani (right) celebrates his fifer in the second innings v Odisha at MCA’s BKC ground on Saturday. Pics/Atul Kamble

As expected, defending champions Mumbai outclassed Odisha by an innings and 103 runs with left-arm spinner Shams Mulani claiming an 11 in their Elite Group ‘A' Ranji Trophy match at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra-Kurla Complex ground on Saturday.

Thanks to their innings victory, the hosts earned a bonus point to secure seven from the game. With a total tally of 16, Mumbai are placed third. Baroda are leading the group with 20 points, followed by Jammu & Kashmir, who have 17 points after four games.

Odisha cleaned up in 2 hours

Odisha resumed their innings at 126-5, trailing by 191 runs. The visitors managed to last for just around two hours and 30.5 overs on Saturday morning.
Mulani, who claimed 6-115 in the first innings and expressed his disappointment at not being picked in the India ‘A' team touring Australia, claimed four of the remaining five wickets to help his team win.

Mumbai's Himanshu Singh during Day Four of the Ranji Trophy match against Odisha on Saturday

On Friday, Mulani said: "There is a storm inside me, but not many can see it. I have to keep grinding over here."

And on Saturday, the left-arm spinner returned figures of 5-71 from 23 overs in the second innings. Mulani got his eighth wicket of the game on his very first ball on the final day, when he trapped Aasirwad Swain (51) LBW in the day's fifth over. Off-spinner Himanshu Singh (4-77) finished the game by dismissing No. 11 batter Sunil Roul (14).

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Himanshu, 21, who was playing only his third first-class match, grabbed the opportunity with both hands, taking seven wickets (3-53 and 4-77) in the absence of senior offie Tanush Kotian, who is on the tour of Australia with the India ‘A' team.

When mid-day asked him how he saw his competition with Kotian, Himanshu said: "My only competition is with me. If I perform well, I will justify my position in the team. I don't see anyone as competition."

Learning from Ashwin, Lyon

He revealed that he learned the art of bowling off-spin by watching India offie Ravichandran Ashwin and Australia's Nathan Lyon. "I only follow two bowlers all over the world, Lyon and Ashwin. Whatever I have learned in terms of off-spin bowling in white and red-ball cricket, has been from watching them bowl,"
Himanshu remarked.

16
Mumbai's points tally in Group ‘A'

Brief scores
Mumbai 602-4d beat Odisha 285 & 214 all out (A Swain 51, K Biswal 45', S Pattnaik 39; S Mulani 5-71, H Singh 4-77) by innings and 103 runs