Ranji Wrap: Shardul leads Mumbai fightback; Assam fail to capitalise on Karnataka mistakes

Mumbai pace spearhead Shardul Thakur bagged a five wicket haul to skittle out Delhi for 166 on Day 2 of the cricket Ranji Trophy quarterfinals at the Driems Ground today. The bowlers, ably led by Thakur (5-54), kept plugging away wickets to allow Delhi manage a slender 10-run lead in response to Mumbai’s 156 in the first innings of the five-day encounter. The Aditya Tare-led side then came back strongly in the second innings to end the day on 87 for one and manage a crucial lead of 77 runs in what seems to be a low-scoring game. Tare was caught behind off Pradeep Sangwan in the 15th over of the innings, but opener Akhil Herwadkar (52 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (12 not out) were battling on with a 46-run unbeaten stand. [caption id=“attachment_2104573” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Getty[/caption] Thakur’s new-ball partner Balwinder Sandhu (2-43) drew first blood after after getting Unmukt Chand caught behind for 15 and soon medium-pacer Wilkin Mota (2-47) trapped captain Gautam Gambhir (5) lbw to put Delhi in trouble. Shivam Sharma and (30) Virender Sehwag (49) then stitched a 78-run third wicket partnership only to be broken by Thakur’s excellence on the field. On a day that belonged to him, Thakur ran out Sehwag to deny the veteran batsman his 54th first-class half-century. The run out gave him confidence and Thakur, who bagged his sixth first-class five-wicket haul, started his demolition act by getting Mithun Manhas caught behind for a duck. But Thakur was unstoppable and the young pacer just cleaned up the Delhi tail in no time. Brief scores: Mumbai 156 and 87/1 (Aditya Tare 23, Akhil Herwadkar 52 no out; Pradeep Sangwan 1-16); Delhi 166 in 54 overs (Virender Sehwag 49, Shivam Sharma 30; Shardul Thakur 5-54). Karnataka vs Assam Karnataka hit a trough, crumbling from 302 for two to 358 for six, but recouped to 452 by tea on day two of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Holkar Stadium on Tuesday. The reigning champion then reduced Assam to 58 for three at the close. Assam undermined Karnataka’s advance in the crucial first hour itself. Krishna Das probed the corridor, repeatedly beating the bat, his toil rewarded in due time with a bag of four for 101. Two feather-touch cuts by Manish Pandey helped the industrious paceman spot a chink in the batsman’s armour. Getting the ball to rise off a good length Das squeezed out an edge from Pandey to Arun Karthick, fetching the stumper the first of his five victims. The same duo enabled Samarth’s exit. Karthick juggled with the ball this time but clutched it low to his right. Bowling from the pavilion end proved more productive, the added lift also accounting for Karun Nair, caught behind, but off Arup Das. Pallav Das from the far end frisked Shishir Bhavane’s blade and Karthick did the rest. The Karnataka bastion that had looked invincible the day before, suddenly seemed so susceptible to damage. C.M. Gautham was a steadying influence but batting at the other end proved brittle. Shreyas Gopal, who cracked a century against M.P. at this very ground earlier in the season, backed up too far and was caught short by Sibsankar Roy’s accurate throw to Pallav at the bowler’s end. Skipper Vinay Kumar met with the same fate, felled by Pallav’s direct hit, following which the tail folded soon after. Brief Scores: Karnataka 1st Innings: 452 all out in 144.2 overs (Robin Uthappa 153, Lokesh Rahul 91; Krishna Das 4/101); Assam 1st Innings: 58 for 3 in 27 overs. PTI