Ranji Trophy 2013-14 final: Maharashtra lose Rohit Motwani, but Ankit Bawne holds firm; score 249/5

Abhimanyu Mithun removes skipper Motwani. Bawne continues leading Maharashtra's batting.

Jan 29, 2014

Ankit Bawne has anchored Maharashtra after tea on Day One of their Ranji Trophy 2013-14 final at Hyderabad. Maharashtra started the session on 195 for four and lost skipper Rohit Motwani. However, Bawne has held firm and has helped his side fight and kept them afloat.

There isn’t much in the wicket for the bowlers and it is just that the Maharashtra had lost a few wickets earlier in the day. Otherwise, the batsmen have looked in very good touch and there isn’t much to trouble them.

Bawne in particular has been brilliant. He has mixed caution and aggression; batting quite sensibly along the way. He is building on his score after completing his 50 at the stroke of tea.

Motwani was dismissed by Abhimanyu Mithun as he chased a wide one and got the edge to the wicketkeeper.

Sangram Atitkar joined Bawne in the middle and started off confidently with a straight drive off Mithun and then dispatched him for four. Karnataka have also tried Amit Verma’s leg-spin as a part-time option.

Maharashtra are 249 for five mid-way through the evening session.

Brief scores:

Maharashtra 243 for 5 (Chirag Khurana 64, Ankit Bawne 76*; Mithun 2 for 38) vs Karnataka