The past (somewhat present as well) and the future of Mumbai and India cricket starred on Day 1 of the Irani Cup. Ajinkya Rahane and Sarfaraz Khan toiled hard and showed their class to take the side over the 200-run mark within 57 overs. Rain delayed the start of the Irani Cup by 30 minutes before Mukesh Kumar’s seam bowling stuttered Mumbai’s top-order.
Mukesh Kumar shines!
After losing Musheer Khan due to an unfortunate injury, Mumbai brought in Ayush Mhatre, who looked impressive with his three fours. However, the Lucknow track received some rainfall and hence offered some initial movement. And that’s where Mukesh Kumar shone brilliantly. The Indian pacer wreaked havoc, dismissing Prithvi Shaw, Hardik Tamore and Mhatre within the 12-over mark.
Mukesh, who was recently snubbed for the series against Bangladesh, showcased his class and bowled at perfect line and length to reduce Mumbai to 37/3.
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Shreyas Iyer and his impact!
Coming to bat at number five, Shreyas Iyer was in a precarious situation. His form going into the match was not apt, while Mumbai were in a tricky spot. But, oh boy, he exuded his class and mixed caution with aggression. As soon as Ruturaj Gaikwad brought in spinners, Iyer was ready to pounce and even handled the short ball well. Yash Dayal, who was leaking runs, bowled a delivery outside off-stump, but Iyer handed it straight to Gaikwad, who was standing at the cover fielder.
Classy knocks by Ajinkya Rahane & Sarfaraz Khan
Mumbai lost Iyer in the second session and that brought Sarfaraz Khan to the middle, who worked in tandem with skipper Ajinkya Rahane. While Manav Suthar was creating one or two chances, Sarafarz and Rahane batted spotlessly. They played their strokes and made a light work of ROI’s bowling, that looked mediocre in front of the duo.
While Rahane’s days with the Indian team may be over, his class on a slow Lucknow track was superb. He drove and played along the ground to muster 86*. Sarfaraz, on the other hand, took some risks and tried to slog the spinners over the in-field.
Irani Cup, Mumbai vs Rest of India score at Stumps, Day 1
Mumbai (lost the toss): 237/4 (68 overs), Ajinkya Rahane (86*) & Sarfaraz Khan (54*): Mukesh Kumar (3/60), Yash Dayal (1/46)
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