Ranji Trophy: 'Special achievement,' says Saurashtra skipper Arpit Vasavada

Saurashtra players pose for a photograph after their win over Mumbai at MCA’s BKC ground yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Saurashtra defeated Mumbai by 48 runs on Day Four of the Elite Group ‘B' Ranji Trophy clash at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra-Kurla Complex ground on Friday.

Resuming at 218-8, Mumbai required 62 runs to win its third consecutive game with two wickets in hand. However, the Saurashtra bowlers wasted no time in dismissing the hosts' last two batsmen - Tushar Deshpande (13) and Shams Mulani (34) - during the first hour of play. Yuvrajsinh Dodiya and Parth Bhut claimed four wickets each for the visitors.

Saurashtra skipper Arpit Vasavada said beating Mumbai in its own backyard was more special and credited teammates for the special achievement. "It's a special win, a very big achievement. To beat Mumbai in Mumbai itself is a special achievement. Obviously, Mumbai are a very strong team, but we just played to our strength," Vasavada told mid-day.

"This victory is a result of the efforts and contribution from all teammates, but particularly Dharmendra [Jadeja]. His performance was quite crucial. His 90 runs
in the second innings was very important. He is a very experienced cricketer and delivered with both bat and ball."

Meanwhile, Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani reckoned that there are few learnings from this defeat. "We knew that there would be spin in the wicket and to bat in the fourth innings is always difficult. So the learning [from the game] is we need to execute our plans better. We need to convert those half chances, because a partnership of 30-40 runs becomes very important on this type of a wicket. We need to grab all the opportunities and half chances," Mulani told mid-day.

Also Read: Ranji Trophy: Not for the faint-hearted!

Brief scores
Saurashtra 289 & 220 beat Mumbai 230 & 231 (P Shaw 68, S Yadav 38, Mulani 34; P Bhut 4-56, Y Dodiya 4-86, D Jadeja 2-84) by 48 runs