Mundhe's seven sends Tata Sports Club packing

MUMBAI: Young medium-pacer from Pune Shrikant Mundhe produced inspired stuff on day one of the Times Cricket Shield A Division final at the MCA's Bandra Kurla ground on Tuesday.
In an unchanged spell of eleven overs he claimed seven for 40 as holders Air India sent Tata Sports Club crashing to 148 all out. Tata's hit back through skipper Ramesh Powar and Wilkin Mota to have Air India 80 for four but Mohammad Kaif (batting 37) and Onkar Gurav (34) added 55 runs in 66 minutes to the close to raise visions of the lead which often proves vital in the final.Gurav had pouched four catches behind the sticks earlier.
Tata's were handicapped by the absence in bowling of Ajit Agarkar, who was running temperature. He had made eight while batting. His bowling on day two will be crucial.
Before he went to field Dhaval Kulkarni was advised by Air India veteran Narendra Hirwani, who does mentoring for the side, to forget his low IPL 3 (he got only a game for MI) and prove his worth. That fired the bowler to have Himanshu Waingankar leg before and one-down Ishan Jaggi caught behind. After Mandeep Moongela couldn't get wicket in his seven overs as Sahil Kukreja (51) stroked sweetly through the covers, it was Mundhe who got the ball from his skipper of the Maharashtra Ranji days, Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Bowling with zest and fair pace and a full follow through, the bowler concentrated on an offstump line and was rewarded.
Nishit Shetty was caught behind, Ramesh Powar bowled by an outswinger, top-scorer. Kukreka and Agarkar were caught by Sushant Marathe at cover. At lunch Hirwani told Mundhe that five wickets wouldn't be enough and he came back responded with the wickets of Wilkin Mota (39) and Usman Malvi (17) who looked like staging a recovery.
A delighted AI coach Praveen Amre said, "Our tactics worked. We picked keeper Gurav, even though we had Naman Ojha and Marathe who keep wickets. He has vindicated our choice with bat and gloves.''
Mundhe said, "The pitch was providing movement and I was happy for that.'' Mundhe came to the fore as a teenager when he claimed five wickets against Mumbai a few years ago. He was the lynchpin of the Maharashtra u-22 side last season but didn't get a Ranji game. He had turned the semi-final against DY Patil with the wicket of Abhishek Raut. He has been full value for Air India. He is to lead Pune Panthers in the Maharashtra Premier League T20 tournament in May.
Another Pune Ranji reject, Dheeraj Jadhav, scored a neat 29 for Air India before Powar had him mistiming a catch. The other opener, Sushant Marathe, had been bowled when he left a ball from Mota that came in. Naman Ojha, the Royals batsman-keeper made 13 before being caught down the legside off Mota. Powar showed his craft when keeping the experienced Kanitkar runless for five balls and then tempting him to mishit and get caught. Powar was in his elements in the last two overs when he troubled Gurav but Mohammad Kaif held firm. There was a different touch to Kaif's batting, no double movements and smooth stroking of the ball. He has scored a hundred at this ground before. Another will seal the fate of Tata's, who will need Agarkar to fire and make match of it.
Brief scores:
Tata Sports Club 148 (Sahil Kukreja 51, Wilkin Mota 39, Dhaval Kulkarni 3-73, Shrikant Mundhe 7-40) vs Air India 135 for 4 (Dheeraj Jadhav 29, Mohammad Kaif batting 37, Onkar Gurav batting 34, Wilkin Mota 2 for 15, Ramesh Powar 2 for 35).