Ranji Trophy: Mumbai last no more than 15.3 overs!

BENGALURU: Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar has the spirit of the warrior. His decision to bat first might have blown up in his face when his team was dismissed for a meagre 202 on Wednesday morning.
But instead of moping around about what might have been, he galvanized his troops and came back in the afternoon with all guns blazing to script an incredible fight back that all but cooked Mumbai's goose.
Vinay's aggression, demeanor and concentrated attack demolished the former champions in one of the most dramatic day of cricket seen at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Indeed, the opening day's play was all about Vinay Kumar (6 for 20) and the manner in which he kept his team's competitive juices flowing. At the same time it was difficult to come to terms with the fact that this was a Mumbai team.
So unbelievably poor was the approach and attitude of the batsmen that their entire innings lasted a mere 15.3 overs, a disgrace even in a T20 match, let alone a five-day Ranji Trophy semifinal.
Mumbai were bundled out for 44, thereby conceding a huge 158-run lead. At close, Karnataka in the second innings were 10 for the loss of both openers.
It would be easy to rationalize that 21 wickets fell because of a poor pitch. Frankly, that was not the case. The fair amount of grass on the pitch was retained to bind the cracks on the dry surface, rather than pose a challenge to the batsmen.
"We opted to bat first only because of the cracks. We expected these to widen in the last innings," said Vinay. But his batsmen were not always in control.
Opener KL Rahul seemed unusually overconfident and paid the price when he was snared with the hook shot in the fifth over. Robin Uthappa (68; 100b, 10x4, 1x6) batted aggressively and was the top scorer but his running between the wickets hardly inspired confidence. Otherwise, with Manish Pandey he steadied the innings with an 81-run third wicket stand.
It was during this phase that the contrasting approach of the two teams stood out. Mumbai operated with a point fielder on the fence and two more deep on the legside and deployed defensive fields despite having picked up two wickets early.
Karnataka, on the other hand, went along at a merry clip of four runs per over through Uthappa and Pandey. The duo threw their bats even at deliveries bowled wide of the stumps and brought up the 100 in only 25 overs.
The dismissal of Uthappa, poking at a wide delivery, now saw a marked change in the approach of the teams. The Mumbai bowlers, for whom medium pacer Sharadul Thakur (461) did an excellent job, started attacking with a sustained spell of reverse swing. The batsmen, in response, went into their shell and except Karun Nair (49 n.o, 84b, 7x4, 1x6), looked pedestrian.
Mumbai had every reason to feel proud of their achievement after dismissing Karnataka but the euphoria disappeared when Vinay Kumar returned with the new ball and struck in sensational fashion.
Mumbai were hampered by the inability of Abhishek Nayar to bat (he was injured while fielding on his own bowling). "Twenty-one wickets falling on the opening day on a decent batting track is unacceptable," Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare said.
His team's 44 was just two runs better than their worst when current selector Milind Rege led the team (42 vs Gujarat at Valsad in 1977-78).