MUMBAI: When Mumbai’s opening combination of Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Divyaansh Sksena negotiated the first session on a pitch that assisted bowlers, it appeared the 42-time champions would go on to post a competitive total.
However, Railways emerged a transformed side after lunch, with their bowlers consistently hitting the right channels. By stumps, they had reduced Mumbai to 247/6 on Day One of their Group D Ranji Trophy tie at the Brabourne Stadium on Monday.
After winning the toss, Railways opted to bowl first in the hope of making early inroads with the pitch having a fair grass cover and the conditions were overcast. But Raghuvanshi, who scored 78 off 122 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, and Sksena, who made 39 off 96 deliveries, curbed their natural instincts and batted cautiously to see off the new ball as Mumbai reached 109 without loss at lunch.
The innings break came at the wrong time for Mumbai as Railways claimed three wickets in the first nine overs of the second session to leave them reeling at 128/3. With the sun out, the ball started carrying much better and posed a sterner test for the Mumbai batters.
Leading the charge was right-arm pacer Himanshu Singh (3/32), who dismissed Sksena in the very first over after lunch. Three overs later, pacer Adarsh Singh (2/60) induced Musheer Khan (4) to edge one straight to substitute wicketkeeper Suraj Ahuja. Sangwan then had Raghuvanshi caught behind, putting Mumbai under severe pressure.
Just when it looked like Railways would tighten their grip further, Siddhesh Lad (47, 125b; 4×4) and Sarfaraz Khan (55, 100b; 7×4) dug in, absorbed the pressure and engineered a recovery. They safely negotiated the remainder of the second session, but just when they seemed to have steadied the innings, both departed within the space of 10 balls in the last session.
The pair added 98 runs for the fourth wicket off 205 balls before Lad chopped a Sangwan delivery onto his stumps. Moments later, Adarsh extracted extra bounce and movement from the surface, catching Sarfaraz by surprise and inducing an edge to end his stay at the crease.
Mumbai slipped further to 238/6 when Suryansh Shedge, making his first appearance of the season, drove one straight to cover off Mohammad Saif. At stumps, Akash Anand (16*) and Shams Mulani (2*) were unbeaten at the crease.
Sarfaraz admitted after play that it was not a typical CCI wicket and that the overcast conditions made batting challenging throughout the day. “The wicket and conditions weren’t easy. The ball was moving throughout the day. Tomorrow will be important and we’ll look to bat for at least two sessions as we still have good batters to come,” said Sarfaraz.
Railways pacer Sangwan said the surface was a bit sticky during the opening session, preventing the ball from carrying well. However, once the sun came out and the pitch dried up, the bowlers were able to extract more assistance, which resulted in the three quick wickets at the start of the second session.
