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In reply, Mumbai lost their both openers, Amogh Bhatkal (28) and Ayush Mhatre (5) early
Rahane and Siddhesh Lad during their 170-run stand. Pic/Anurag Ahire
After a disappointing game against Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) last week, defending champions Mumbai bounced back strongly, first by bowling out Meghalaya for a mere 86 and then securing a lead of 127 runs with eight wickets in hand at stumps on Day One of their must-win Elite Group ‘A’ match at the MCA-BKC ground on Thursday.
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Unlike the game against J&K, Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane opted to bowl first and the decision paid dividends as Mumbai pacers Shardul Thakur (4-43), Mohit Avasthi (3-27) and Sylvester D’Souza (2-14) bundled out Meghalaya inside 25 overs before lunch.
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The highlight of the innings was Thakur’s fiery bowling spell (11-3-43-4), which included a hat-trick when he dismissed Balchander Anirudh, Sumit Kumar and Jaskirat Sachdeva, all for ducks in his second and the innings’ third over. Avasthi, who disturbed opener Arpit Bhatewara’s (2) furniture on the first ball of the fourth over, reduced the visitors to 2 for 6. Though the visitors lost their top six batters with the scoreboard reading just two, No.10 Himan Phukan (28 off 24, 3x4, 2x6) and No. 9 Anish Charak (17, 3x4) stitched together a 42-run stand off 45 balls to help Meghalaya reach 86 all out.
In reply, Mumbai lost their both openers, Amogh Bhatkal (28) and Ayush Mhatre (5) early. However, one-drop Siddhesh Lad (89 not out, 11x4, 1x6) and Rahane (83 not out, 9x4, 1x6) played sensible knocks. Lad reached his half-century with a cracking pull shot for four off pacer Nafees Siddique (0-33), while Rahane followed suit in the same over to bring up his first fifty of the season with a single. The duo shared an unbeaten 170-run partnership.
Meanwhile, India’s Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma, who was part of Mumbai’s playing XI in the previous red-ball game, had a net session at the BKC ground on Thursday, facing net bowlers to prepare for the white-ball challenge. Rohit will be joining Team India for the ODI series against England starting in Nagpur on February 6.
Brief scores
Meghalaya 86 all out (H Phukan 28; S Thakur 4-43, M Avasthi 3-27, S D’Souza 2-14) v Mumbai 213-2 (S Lad 89*, A Rahane 83*; A Charak 1-50)
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