Ranji Trophy 2021-22: The Yashasvi Jaiswal show and other talking points from semi-finals

Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai are all set to take on each other in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22. While MP defeated Bengal in the semi-final by 174 runs, Mumbai on the other side frustrated Uttar Pradesh thoroughly with dominant batting performance. Mumbai scored 393 in the first innings and then bundled out UP for 180. The side then came out to bat and posted 533/4 (declared) in the second innings as the match ended in a draw and Mumbai marched ahead on the basis of first innings lead. There were some brilliant individual performances during the two clashes that made headlines. Yashasvi Jaiswal show Mumbai’s Yashasvi Jaiswal was on a roll against Uttar Pradesh as he etched his name in the record books after scoring two tons in the match. The opener showed great character in the first innings despite watching the wickets tumble at the other end. He was himself dropped a couple of times but made a good use of the chances given and went on to notch up 100 in the first innings. Mumbai eventually put up 393 in the first innings. Hardik Tamore also scored a century. Later, the Mumbai bowlers got into the act and bowled out UP for 180. The 41-time champions then came out to bat and it was opener Prithvi Shaw who took on the UP bowling unit and struck a quick 64 off 71. But it was Jaiswal and Armaan Jaffer who frustrated the bowlers with a 286-run stand for the second wicket. While Jaiswal scored 181, Jaffer made a valuable contribution of 127 as Mumbai posted 533/4 (declared) and marched ahead on the basis of first innings lead. Manoj Tiwary, Shahbaz Ahmed show mettle Bengal might have bowed out of the tournament after losing the semi-final to MP but experienced Manoj Tiwary and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed showed great character especially in the first innings. Bengal were tottering at 54/5 when Tiwary and Ahmed joined hands to show resistance. Tiwary began his innings with some aggressive stroke play as he made good use of the sweep as well as the reverse sweep. Shahbaz on the other side, was cautious but didn’t shy away from hitting away the deliveries that were bowled in his arc. The two batters put on 183 runs for the sixth wicket before Tiwary departed for 102. Later, Shahbaz also scored a hundred but the lower order couldn’t really make the contributions as Bengal were bundled out for 273 conceding a first innings lead. The left-handed all-rounder also performed well with the ball as he returned with a fifer in the second innings but MP rode on fifties from Rajat Patidar and Aditya Shrivastava to score 281 and hand Bengal a target of 350 runs. The side didn’t look in control and lost wickets at regular intervals as Kumar Kartikeya rattled the batting unit to scalp a fifer. Bengal were bowled out for 175 and lost the match by 174 runs. Spin dominates The encounter between MP and Bengal saw a lot of wickets going to the spinners. Kartikeya and Saransh Jain picked up six wickets in the first innings for MP. Later, Pradipta Pramanik and Shahbaz Ahmed shared a total of 9 wickets for Bengal in the second innings. Kumar Kartikeya continued his brilliance in the second innings as well and returned with a fifer. UP fail to put up a fight The scorecard of the semi-final match between UP and Mumbai would give an impression that it was a total dominance from the latter’s batting unit. Well, it was but a lot of credit goes to UP’s sloppy fielding. They first dropped Jaiswal twice in the first innings and he followed it with a ton. Later, Shaw was dropped by Rinku Singh in the slips in the second innings as well. Apart from this, the batters failed to apply themselves and didn’t really look in control. They lost wickets in regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 180. Himanshu Mantri shows the way The wicket-keeper batter Himanshu Mantri played a major role in MP’s successful run in the semi-final. While he saw wickets going down around him, Mantri showed mettle and held the fort at end to provide resistance to the side. He took his time in the middle to get his eye in and dominated the opposition bowling attack to score 165 off 327 which included 19 fours and a maximum. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.