Mumbai pressed hard for a second consecutive innings victory and the additional point to go with it on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy Group ‘D’ encounter against Puducherry on Tuesday. They will still get it on Wednesday.
“We tried to finish it off today [Tuesday] but now we will try to finish it off in the first session on Wednesday by bowling a disciplined line. Our plan in the second innings was to attack as much as possible. In the first, we wanted to contain as much as possible,” said Mumbai left-arm spinner Shams Mulani. Two home-grown Mumbai boys, Aman Khan (86, 44b, 6×4, 8×6) and Sidhaanth Aadhhathrao (51 54b, 9×4), playing for Puducherry, stretched the match to the fourth and final day as the visitors went into stumps at the Wankhede Stadium on 231-6 in their second innings, still needing another 267 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Aman, who played limited-overs cricket for Mumbai from 2020-22, and also for KKR and DC in the IPL, raced to his highest first-class score. He shared a 137-run partnership off 91 balls for the sixth wicket with Aadhhathrao, who played one Ranji match for Mumbai last season before turning pro for Puducherry this time. He registered his maiden first-class half-century.
While counter-attacking, Aman struck the ball cleanly against the turn, often clearing the boundary by a long way. He was particularly severe against offie Tanush Kotian and left-arm spinner Musheer Khan, picking seven sixes off them. However, while attempting his ninth six (and fourth off Musheer) he was bowled 10 minutes from stumps.
Aman, 28, who plays for DY Patil SA in Mumbai club tournaments, spoke about his stand with Aadhhathrao, a PG Hindu Gymkhana player: “It’s funny. Before the game we were discussing that if we two batted together, it would be Mumbai versus Mumbai. That’s what happened. We have played so much cricket at Wankhede, we know the pitch better than the other Puducherry boys.”
Earlier, Mumbai bowled Puducherry out for 132 in the first innings shortly after lunch and enforced the follow-on, being 498 ahead.
Resuming at 43-4, Puducherry failed to put up a fight in reply to Mumbai’s gigantic 630-5 declared. The overnight pair of top-scorer Mohit Kale (53) and captain Sagar Udeshi resisted the Mumbai pace trio of Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande and Mohit Avasthi for 70 minutes, before the downslide began. Their last six wickets fell for 63 once the spinners Mulani (2-23) and Kotian (3-33) were introduced about an hour before lunch.
Brief scores
Mumbai 630-5d vs Puducherry 132 all out (M Kale 53; S Thakur 3-22, T Kotian 3-33, S Mulani 2-23, T Deshpande 2-26) & 231-6 (A Khan 86, S Aadhhathrao 51*, N Kangayan 42; S Mulani 2-67)