Ranji Trophy 2013-14: Gujarat in strong position against Mumbai

Gujarat placed themselves in a strong position as they first took a 99-run first innings lead.

Valsad : Dec 31, 2013

Gujarat placed themselves in a strong position as they first took a 99-run first innings lead over Mumbai and then reduced the visitors to 76 for four in their second essay on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group A match.

In reply to Mumbai 154, Gujarat posted 253 all out in their first innings to take a solid lead.

At stumps, Mumbai were struggling with their top four batsmen back in the pavilion. Hiken Shah and Iqbal Abdulla, both unbeaten on four each, were at the crease.

Earlier, resuming on 90 for two, Gujarat lost their overnight batsman Parthiv Patel, who added just one more run to his overnight score of five, early.

But the other overnight batsman in Samit Gohel, resuming on 36, went on to complete his half century. He scored a fine 58 off 171 balls, laced with five hits to the fence.

Y Venugopal Rao (39), Akshar Patel (36) and Chirag Gandhi (26) also chipped in with valuable runs but none of them could convert their scores into a big one.

For Mumbai, Iqbal Abdulla was the the pick of the bowlers with figures of six for 42, while Shardul Thakur (3 for 54) claimed three.

In their second innings also, Mumbai got off to a poor start as they were straightaway reduced to 18 for two.

Although skipper Wasim Jaffer (16) and Suryakumar Yadav (34) steadied the boat, putting on a 33-run stand for the third wicket, they failed to see the day off.

Gujarat’s medium pacer Jasprit Bumrah (3 for 12) chipped in with three important wickets to give the hosts an upper hand at the end of the second day.
Brief scores:

Mumbai  154 & 76 for four (Suryakumar Yadav 34; Jasprit Bumrah 3 for 12) trail Gujarat 253 (Samit Gohel 58, Y Venugopal Rao 39, Akshar Patel 36; Iqbal Abdulla 6 for 42, Shardul Thakur 3 for 54) by 23 runs