INDORE
: It was a moment which rounded off Mumbai's opening day in the
Ranji Trophy final
against Gujarat at the
Holkar Cricket Stadium
on Tuesday.
After the defending champions had been bowled out for just 228, Gujarat openers
Samit Gohel and
Priyank Panchal had the tricky task of seeing off just one over before stumps.
Off the first delivery of Gujarat's innings, opener Samit Gohel edged Shardul Thakur to first slip, where
Prithvi Shaw grassed a regulation catch. The ecstatic pacer leapt high to celebrate his `first kill' but was left dejected after the ball popped out of Shaw's hands seconds later.
The strike would not just have helped Mumbai get rid of an in-form batsman, but allowed them to end a miserable day with some solace. However, the missed opportunity was in sync with their day in general -they had shot themselves in the foot earlier too.
Four of Mumbai's wickets were `gifted away', even as one was `scalped' by umpire Anil Chaudhary , who adjudged Siddhesh Lad caught behind off an RP Singh bouncer although there seemed to be daylight between bat and ball.
What turned the tide was the run out, following a horrible mix-up, of Shaw. After stroking a hundred on his first-class debut against Tamil Nadu in the semifinals, the latest batting sensation from Mumbai was again looking good for the three-figure mark before his delightful innings was cruelly cut short for 71 (93balls; 11x4).
Shaw was threatening to take the game away from Gujarat before a misunderstanding with Suryakumar Yadav resulted in the 17-year-old being forced to `sacrifice' his wicket in favour of his senior partner.
Mumbai, who were 1062 at that stage, never recovered as they lost eight wickets for 122 runs. Yadav (57; 133b, 7x4, 1x6) tried to make amends somewhat by donning a more `attacking avatar'. A poor stroke, though, denied the batsman a chance of a bigger score.
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