Thers`s no stopping Shams Mulani on a wearing track. The 28-year-old left-arm spinner picked up his third five-wicket haul in four matches this Ranji Trophy season.
Mulani’s second innings bag of 5-37, the 19th five-wicket haul of his career, helped Mumbai to an innings and 120-run victory against Himachal Pradesh in just three days on Monday.
Mumbai’s Musheer Khan during his 2-23 against HP on Monday
With seven points, including a bonus, Mumbai moved to the top position with 17 points after four rounds in Elite Group D at the MCA-BKC ground.
HP skittled out twice
The Himachal lower order put up some resistance to delay their first innings closure, but could not avoid the follow-on. All out for 187 and trailing Mumbai by 259 (Mumbai made 446 in their first innings) Himachal were skittled for 139 as the hosts registered their second win of the season.
First-time Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur reflected on the team’s performances so far and insisted that he is determined to complete this season on a high. “After Monday’s result, we could easily have been sitting on 20 points. But in the second game, there were weather interruptions and it was incomplete. I’m happy with where we are positioned right now. We backed ourselves to get six points, but to get seven points was phenomenal. From here, we just need to keep playing good cricket,” said Thakur, who picked up a wicket each with the shining ball in both innings.
Shardul Thakur
While players like batsman Siddhesh Lad and all-rounder Mulani consistently bail the team out of tense situations, Thakur preferred a proactive approach. He said: “Everyone in the side has the potential to be a crisis man, but I’d be happier if we called them match-winners. I don’t want to see my team in a crisis. Yes, there’ll be tough situations, but in those situations, if everyone puts their heads down and just does what’s needed, we’ll emerge victorious.”
Describing his captaincy style, the 34-year-old said: “I look at the game slightly differently. Whether it’s going to be a successful one, I don’t know. What I expect from my teammates is, ‘let’s be open to different ideas’.”
Thakur and his new ball partner Tushar Deshpande struck very early in the Himachal second innings, similar to the first essay and in the same order. Captain Ankush Bains edged Deshpande behind, while Sidhant Purohit was trapped in front by Thakur in the second and third overs, respectively.
A 47-run stand ensued for the third wicket between left-handers Pukhraj Mann and Ankit Kalsi before the ever-reliable Mulani picked up the first of his five wickets. It was only a matter of when Himachal would fold up.
‘Mulani will get his due’
Thakur was banking on Mulani’s experience to deliver for the team this season. On Mulani, who has picked up 24 wickets this season, Thakur said: “Shams has experience and we are banking on this. The kind of performances Shams is putting in, he will get his due [India selection]. India is a big country, only 15 can play for India.
And, we have hundreds of good players in the country. So, Shams will get his due at some point. He just needs to be patient.”
19
No. of five-wicket hauls by Shams Mulani in first-class cricket
Brief scores
Mumbai 446 all out beat HP 187 all out & 139 all out (P Mann 65; S Mulani 5-37, M Khan 2-23) by an innings and 120 runs