Rahane-led side beat state mates Maharashtra by 9 wickets to open account; spinner Mulani (6-162) happy to help as champs bounce back from Baroda loss
Mumbai and Maharashtra players shake hands at MCA’s BKC ground yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Ajinkya Rahane’s Mumbai won the state derby, outclassing Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Maharashtra by nine wickets in their Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy encounter at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla Complex ground on Monday.
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Shams Mulani
The defending champions completed the formality of scoring the remaining 61 runs in just 54 minutes to open their account with six points. Opener Prithvi Shaw and No.3 Hardik Tamore were unbeaten on 39 (5x4) and 21 (3x4) respectively. Opener Ayush Mhatre (15) was the only wicket to fall in the day, caught at short cover off left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav (1-40). Had Mumbai not lost that wicket, they would have claimed the bonus point and picked seven points instead. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who claimed six wickets in the match (6-162), was happy to see the team bounce back from the defeat to Baroda in their Ranji opener. “[We’ve got the] much-needed points on board. The last match [against Baroda] was an eye-opener for us, especially after our Irani Cup [triumph]. We played hard in that last game [against Baroda], but still lost. Coming here, we knew that we needed six or seven points. It hurts a bit when you miss that one [bonus] point, but in the last match we got zero points and here we scored six, so we’ll take that,” Mulani told reporters.
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The veteran spinner lavished praise on teen opener Mhatre, 17, who scored an attacking 176 in the first innings, and compared his batting style to that of Shaw. He said: “He [Mhatre] is a tremendous talent. He bats a bit like Shaw. In fact, when they bat together, it feels like two brothers are batting. He plays his shots well. He doesn’t fear any opposition, and I think that will take him far [in his career].”
Brief scores
Maharashtra 126 & 388 lost to Mumbai 441 & 75-1 (P Shaw 39*, H Tamore 21*) by 9 wickets
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