Mane, Jaffer deny TN a wicket all day

CHENNAI: “Mani, these guys are useless. At least enter a wicket in the scorebook. So what if it is wrong. At least that way these guys can boast of getting a wicket.� These were the instructions being mouthed in Tamil by a disgruntled Tamil Nadu supporter to the scorers, after witnessing the TN attack being tamed by Mumbai openers Wasim Jaffer and Vinayak Mane on day two of the Ranji Trophy final on Friday.
With a heady mix of skill and ruthlessness Mumbai showed just why they are rated so highly in Indian domestic cricket. Chasing Tamil Nadu’s first innings total of 294, Jaffer and Mane slammed unbeaten hundreds to all but ensure Mumbai’s 36th Ranji Trophy triumph. At stumps, the defending champions were 236 for no loss, merely 58 runs away from taking a first innings lead.
Such was the brilliance in their effort that it didn’t seem to matter that they were beneficiaries of some largesse from the hosts. Mane was dropped twice on 15 and Jaffer once on 5. Twice Ramkumar was the culprit, while keeper Dinesh Kaarthik grassed a hot chance from Mane off C Ganapathy. Jaffer’s unbeaten 121, compiled in 249 balls had 19 fours punctuating the effort. Mane’s 105 came in 238 balls with 14 fours. It was the best opening stand for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu, beating the 199-run association between Sunil Gavaskar and Kiran Ashar in 1976-77 at the Wankhede.
Tamil Nadu (first inn-overnight 269/9): D Kaarthik not out 109, MR Shrinivas lbw Kulkarni 17. Extras: (b-6, lb-3, nb-1): 10. Total (all out) 294. Bowling: M Patel 19-3-62-1; A Salvi 17-2-58-0; B Thakkar 3-0-8-0; N Kulkrani 32.2-5-83-6; S Bahutule 26-4-74-3.
Mumbai (first inn): W Jaffer batting 121, V Mane batting 105. Extras (b-2, lb-1, nb-7): 10. Total (for no loss) 236. Bowling: C Ganapathy 11-2-49-0, MR Shrinivas 10-5-33-0, D Ramkumar 18-6-41-0, S Suresh 7-2-22-0, V Sivaramakrishnan 21-3-66-0, S Sriram 7-1-10-0, S Badrinath 4-0-10-0, H Badani 2-0-2-0.
Jadhav hits double ton: In Pune, a brilliant double ton by opener Dhiraj Jadhav put Maharashtra in a commanding position as they amassed 501 runs against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of the Plate final. Jadhav hammered 251 runs off 536 balls.
In reply, the visitors were 26 for one in nine overs.