Shardul in the forefront as Mumbai grab innings lead

KANPUR: It's not for nothing that Mumbai have been power house of domestic cricket. On Tuesday they battled the odds to grab the important first innings lead against hosts Uttar Pradesh at Green Park stadium.
Resuming at 42 for three, they were in dire straits at 57 for six in the morning chasing the hosts' score of 206. But to their credit they fought back to turn the tables on a day when cricket was at its engrossing best as fortunes kept fluctuating by the hour.Mumbai finally ended at 270, and UP were 7-0 at close of the penultimate day. Shardul Thakur, who had put the Mumbai side back on track on Monday with a six-wicket haul, emerged the hero again with the bat along with Shreyas Iyer and Kshemal Waingankar.
He stood in the middle like a rock, frustrating the UP bowlers with his career-best effort of 87 with the willow, having done the same with the ball a day earlier.
Thakur, along with Iyer and Waingankar made good on a day when bright sunshine made things easier for the batsmen. Unlike the previous two days, the light was at its best, though the fog had some say earlier in the day. That meant play started at 11 am, and Mumbai slid to 57 for six before going for lunch at 84 for six in the 13 overs possible.
A repeat of the previous match, when they were skittled out for 101 against Railways in Delhi, was a possibility. But the batsmen had other ideas. They fought tooth and nail against the UP new-ball trio of Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra and Ankit Rajpoot. The fightback started with Shreyas Iyer and Wilkin Mota putting on 66 runs for the 7th wicket.
There after walked in Thakur carrying his never-say-die attitude. Both he and Iyer started playing their shots and with boundaries coming thick and fast, they had the UP bowlers on the back foot.
The duo realised 50 runs for the eighth wicket to bring Mumbai nearer the target.
Brief Scores: Day Three - Uttar Pradesh 206 and 70 vs Mumbai 270 (Shardul Thakur 87, Shreyas Iyer 75, A Mishra 4-63, Praveen Kumar 3-77).