Maharashtra all out for 109 as Nazir takes five

PUNE: Maharashtra batsmen failed to rise to the occasion and are staring at second consecutive defeat, and possibly continue their deplorable stay in Group C of the Ranji Trophy.


Led by seamer Umar Nazir's five-wicket haul and his best first-class figures of 5-30, visitors Jammu & Kashmir bowled out Maharashtra for 109 on a pacer-friendly Gahunje stadium wicket on Wednesday.

After taking a 100-run first-innings lead, Jammu & Kashmir scored 155-4 in the second essay to be 255 runs ahead at stumps on the second day of the four-day game.

Opener Suryansh Raina is still batting on a solid 140-ball 79 with Abdul Samad on 19. The hosts failed to capitalise on yet another strong bowling start with the ball after Maharashtra pacemen Anupam Sanklecha (2-27) and Digvijay Deshmukh (1-21) reduced J&K to 25-3 in the 11th over. Suryansh and Fazil Rashid (43) added 104 runs for the fourth wicket to take a firm grip on the match. Maharashtra had also allowed Jammu & Kashmir score 209 in the first innings too after reducing them to 42-5.

Resuming at 51-3, the hosts had a rough morning session. Nazir, who had already dismissed opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (10) on day one, beat new batsman

Ankit Bawne

twice in the second over of the day. From the other end, experienced pacer Ram Dayal was doing the same with his outswingers against Murtuza Trunkwala (overnight 31).

Soon the pressure asserted on the batsmen paid off with Trunkwala throwing his wicket away. The opener had not scored on the second day after facing 20 balls. To break the shackles, he tried to clear the field but his poorly-timed shot landed in the hands of Abid Mushtaq at short mid-off.

With his wicket began Mahrashtra's collapse as the hosts lost seven wickets in a session.

Mohammed Mudhasir had Bawne caught in the slips at 13. Two overs later, Avdoot Dandekar was dismissed by Nazir. The Maharashtra wicket-keeper left most of Nazir's deliveries but this time he tried to defend one with a straight bat and edged to the second slip.

At 85-6, Rahul Tripathi was the only recognised batsman left. The former IPL star smashed two fours to ease the pressure. Sanklecha followed suit sending two through the covers.

But their innings were short-lived. Tripathi, at 9, missed Mudhasir's in-swinger that disturbed his stumps. The bowler went down to his knees and kissed the ground. Tripathi's wicket was his 100th in first-class cricket.

In the over that followed, Sanklecha (13) misjudged Nazir's bouncer and gave an easy catch to Suryansh at point. Within two overs, Maharashtra were all out with J&K's man of the match from their last game - Ram Dayal - finally getting a wicket to his name.

Nazir said, "Now, the pitch has become much easier for the batsmen. Getting enough runs on the board is important right now so we (bowlers) can do our job get the points."

Nazir, 27, has been largely used as a first-change bowler in his career spanning 33 first-class games and six seasons. This match was no different.

However, since J&K couldn't take a wicket in the first 10 overs on Tuesday, he was brought in relatively early (11th hour). He stuck immediately. The 6ft 4 inch medium continued his good work on Wednesday by using the pitch to his advantage.

Maharashtra have been longing for what Nazir brought for J&K - incisiveness - when the day's play began. He was almost unplayable in the first couple of overs. Almost on every second delivery, Nazir was beating the bat.

"I really did not try anything special. Just kept it in the right areas as they pitch was doing the rest," said Nazir, who is from Pulwama. "The pitch offered me a great deal of seam movement and I banked on it. All I had to do was find the right line."

If Maharashtra lose this game, their hope of finishing in the top-two in this group will get a serious beating. After being relegated for this season, Maharashtra had lost to Haryana in the first match at Lahli last week. Only top-two teams from the group qualify for the quarterfinals and are expected to be promoted to the top tier (Groups A and B) for the next season. A bottom-placed team in Group C is expected to be relegated to Group 'D'.

Brief scores

Jammu & Kashmir 209 (A Banday 76, A Mushtaq 50; A Sanklecha 4/56, Digvijay Deshmukh 2/15) and 155-4 (Suryansh Raina 79*, F Rashid 43) vs Maharashtra 109 (M Trunkwala 31; U Nazir 5/40, A Mushtaq 2/23).