Mumbai, Nov 17 (PTI) Siddhesh Lad’s career-best 170 and skipper Shardul Thakur’s three-wicket burst underlined Mumbai’s domination as the hosts reduced Pondicherry to 43 for 4 after piling up 630/5 declared on Day Two of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash here Monday.
Thakur struck twice in first three balls and returned 3/17, following up on a minute-a-mile fifty earlier in the day as his side left Pondicherry staring at a mountain to climb. The visitors are trailing by 587 runs in the first innings.
Thakur cleaned up Neyan Kangayan (0) in the first ball of the innings and trapped Paras Ratnaparkhe (0) in the third, while having Anand Singh Bais (5) caught behind in a fiery spell with the new ball on a flat wicket here at the Wankhede Stadium.
Earlier, Lad struck his 13th first-class hundred, his third of the season and second on the trot to make 170 off 285 balls with 19 fours and four sixes as Mumbai made merry on a batting-friendly pitch against an insipid Pondicherry attack.
Akash Anand (107 not out) notched up his third FC ton in nine matches, but India batter Sarfaraz Khan missed out, falling for a 113-ball 67 (6x4s, 1x6s). Thakur smacked a characteristic 32-ball 56 with four sixes and three fours before retiring hurt.
While putting on 160 runs for the fourth wicket with Sarfaraz, Lad was in his elements, scoring runs on both sides of the wickets. Hitting two sixes each over long-on and long-off, he also pierced gaps at will to carve out a flawless innings.
Lad consolidated Mumbai’s hold on the game as he added another 110 runs for the fifth wicket with Anand against an exhausted Pondicherry attack, who had each of their five bowlers including skipper Sagar Udeshi giving away more than 100 runs.
Sarfaraz took off his helmet and celebrated crossing the fifty-run mark like batters do after making tons, but poked on one outside off to be caught behind, having batted well for his maiden half-century of the season.
Mumbai did not take the foot off the pedal as Anand and Thakur then tore apart a tiring Pondicherry attack, adding 100 runs off only 68 balls in their bid to bat out the rivals.
Thakur was severe on anything short and wide while smacking powerful sixes on the leg side. Anand cracked eight fours to make 107 not out off 122 balls.
Anand said there is enough in the Wankhede track for the bowlers provided they were able to make the effort, while praising Pondicherry spinners for their efforts.
“There is enough help for everyone, for pacers and even for spinners. if you bat well, you have value for strokes also. It’s a wicket where if you bend your back as a bowler, you have help throughout the day. That is what we aim to do,” he told media.
In Jammu, hosts Jammu and Kashmir took complete control of the clash against Hyderabad by extending their overall lead to 324 runs.
J&K were 275 for four when stumps were drawn with opener Qamran Iqbal (50), Abdul Samad (77 not out) and Kanhaiya Wadhwan (82 not out) hitting their half-centuries.
Having taken 49-run lead on the first day where 16 wickets fell, J&K produced a tidy effort with the bat to gain complete control of the game against Hyderabad who have not lost a game so far this season.
Hosts Rajasthan were bolstered by centuries from Mahipal Lomror (128 not out) and Kartik Sharma (120) on the second day after Sachin Yadav (130) and Kunal Singh Rathore (102) hit triple figure scores on Day One, to reach 570/7 declared against Delhi.
Delhi were 8 for no loss when stumps were drawn, trailing by a massive 562 runs.
At the Amtar Cricket Ground in Nadaun, Himachal Pradesh were 37/1 after Chhattisgarh declared their first innings at a massive score of 585 for six, following centuries from Anuj Tiwary (162), Amandeep Khare (101 not out), Mayank Verma (112) and Sanjeet Desai’s 84.
Brief Scores: At Mumbai: 630/5 in 147 overs (Musheer Khan 84, Akhil Herwadkar 86, Siddhesh Lad 170, Sarfaraz Khan 67, Akash Anand 107 not out, Shardul Thakur 56 retd hurt; Sabhay Chadha 2/146) lead Pondicherry 43/4 in 12 overs (Mohit Kale 13 not out; Shardul Thakur 3/17, Tushar Deshpande 1/7) by 587 runs.
At Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir 170 & 275/4 in 71 overs (Qamran Iqbal 50, Abdul Samad Samad 77 not out, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 82 not out; Rakshan Readdi 2/56) lead Hyderabad 121 by 324 runs.
At Rajsamand: Rajasthan 570/7d in 161 overs (Sachin Yadav 130, Kunal Singh Rathore 102, Mahipal Lomror , Kartik Sharma 120; Simarjeet Singh 3/81) lead Delhi 8/0 in 4 overs by 562 runs.
At Nadaun: Chhattisgarh 585/6d in 158 overs (Ayush Pandey 59, Anuj Tiwary 162, Sanjeet Desai 84, Mayank Verma 112; Mayank Dagar 2/124) lead Himachal Pradesh 37/1 in 11 overs by 548 runs. PTI DDV AT AT
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