Bengaluru: Captain Prithvi Shaw (47) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (43 not out) played steady knocks in lifting Mumbai to 105/1 in 36 overs on day one of the Ranji Trophy final against Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru.
By the time lunch arrived, Mumbai were the happier side despite losing Shaw for 47 on a pitch which has some turn, lateral bounce and movement under overcast skies and cool weather. Madhya Pradesh troubled Shaw and Jaiswal but didn’t have much luck on their side despite not bowling many loose balls.
After electing to bat first, Mumbai began well with Jaiswal being the initial aggressor, dancing down the pitch to hit Kumar Kartikeya Singh for a six over mid-on. When Kartikeya again bowled short, Jaiswal hanged back in his crease and cut sweetly through backward point for four.
After almost being run-out due to a huge mix-up, Jaiswal continued to get forward and drive Gaurav Yadav as well as Saransh Jain through the off-side. Shaw, despite fetching some boundaries, was struggling to adjust to the bounce and deviation off the pitch against pacer Gaurav Yadav.
Against spinners, especially Kartikeya, who wasn’t getting much help from the pitch, Shaw used his feet to slam a lofted six over long-off and follow it up with a boundary coming off a beautiful straight drive in his first over of facing spin.
But him being troubled against movement from pacers eventually caused his downfall as fast bowler Anubhav Agarwal breached through his defence to rattle his off-stump.
Armaan Jaffer continued his good nick with a lovely punch-drive off Agarwal, presenting the full face of the bat and brought up Mumbai’s hundred when a thick outer edge on defence going past gully.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 105/1 in 36 overs (Prithvi Shaw 47, Yashasvi Jaiswal 43 not out; Anubhav Agarwal 1/28) against Madhya Pradesh.
–IANS
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