Bengaluru, June 22: An unheralded bunch of Madhya Pradesh bowlers stuck to its plans as a star-studded Mumbai side toiled its way to 248 for five on the first day of the Ranji Trophy final here.
Despite an opening stand of 87 between Prithvi Shaw (47, 79 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (78, 163 balls), Mumbai failed to drive home the advantage on a pitch that wasn’t conducive for strokeplay.
A 400-plus first-innings total will now depend on the season’s highest run-getter Sarfaraz Khan (40 batting, 125 balls), who is looking good for another big knock with the dependable Shams Mulani (12 batting, 43 balls) giving him company.
While left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya was the tireless operator from one end, having sent down 31 overs for figures of 1 for 91, seamer Gaurav Yadav (23-5-68-0) was distinctly unlucky and the wickets column don’t reflect the relentless pressure that he put on Mumbai batters, especially skipper Shaw. (PTI)
