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Danish Malewar’s gritty 79 and opener Dhruv Shorey’s attractive 74 made up for a gritty batting show by hosts Vidarbha as they reached 308 for 5 against defending champions Mumbai on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final here on Monday.
Karun Nair scores 45
Karun Nair, who is back in contention for a Test team berth, scored a chiselled 45 before he seemed distinctly unhappy with a caught behind decision of Shivam Dube’s bowling although he had opted for DRS. While the two-time champions didn’t have a big partnership, they had enough middling stands to see them cross 300-run mark after Mumbai had sent down 88 overs in the day.
Mumbai bowlers were also guilty of bowling as many as 13 no balls during the course of the opening day. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (2-44) was easily the best bowler on the day as he got appreciable bounce and some amount of purchase from the Jamtha track. Dube (2-35) also had a couple wickets but one of them was more so because of a splendid one-handed diving catch by Suryakumar Yadav in the slip cordon.
Sloppy bowling
The morning session belonged to Shorey, who capitalised on the half-volleys provided by Mohit Avasthi, who simply doesn’t have the required pace to trouble batters if he doesn’t get to swing the new ball. As far as Shardul Thakur is concerned, he fed Shorey on the legs and got whipped. It was left-armer Royston Dias, who got the breakthrough with a delivery that climbed on left-hander Atharva Taide (4) as the batter tried to shoulder arms. Shorey, a former Delhi opener, who hit nine boundaries, added 54 for the second wicket with Parth Rekhade (23). Malewar blended caution with aggression after lunch, dominating in his 51-run stand with Shorey.
Sachin Baby leads Kerala’s gritty fightback versus Gujarat
Veteran Sachin Baby steadied Kerala’s innings with a resolute unbeaten half-century, guiding his team to 206-4 against a probing Gujarat attack on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final here on Monday. Baby, 36, occupied the crease for two full sessions, crafting an unbeaten 69 (8×4) that kept their maiden final hopes alive. He found an able ally in Mohammed Azharuddeen, who remained unbeaten on 30 (3×4) after surviving a last-ball LBW scare as DRS overturned the decision.
Brief Scores
Kerala 206-4 (S Baby 69*; P Jadeja 1-33) v Gujarat
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