Mumbai face an uphill task

MUMBAI: Mumbai finally bowled out Saurashtra but not before the visitors had piled up a mammoth 484 on the third day of their four-day Ranji match on Thursday.

However, the hosts failed to dismiss Sitanshu Kotak, who proved to be the demon for the home side scoring runs with an insatiable glee. Kotak remained unbeaten to score his career best 168 from 543 deliveries.

Mumbai took the fight to the opposition and scored 187 for 2 at stumps with skipper Amol Muzumdar (86) and opener Ajinkya Rahane (83) unconquered at the crease. Opener Sahil Kukreja (10) and one-drop Vinit Indulkar (0) were the batsmen to get out.

The young Rahane and Muzumdar built an unbeaten 148-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Muzumdar, playing his 100 th test, was initially cautious, but soon broke loose after he gauged the pace and bounce of the wicket.

He played with panache though the stylish batsman got a life at 42 when he edged one to wicket-keeper Sandip Jogiyani, while attempting a drive.

Rahane played a clean innings and scored a crucial 83 runs.  With Delhi’s chances of making the semis looking brighter, only a miracle can save Mumbai from going into the semis.

Scorecard:

Saurashtra: (Overnight: 465 for 9)  S Kotak not out 168, S Maniar c Kukreja b Mangela 26; Extras: (b 9, lb 18, w 7, nb 16) 50; Total 484 all out in 191.2; FoW: 10-484 (Maniar, 191.2 ov); Bowling: M Hussain 41-8-103-4 (3nb, 2w), M Mangela 46.2-16-105-5 (8nb, 5w), A Nayar 28-10-43-0, R Powar 31-10-75-0 (1nb), N Kulkarni 33-7-96-1, A Muzumdar 5-1-14-0, R Sharma 7-0-21-0;

Mumbai (1st innings): S Kukreja lbw b Vaghela 10, A Rahane not out 83, V Indulkar c Jogiyani b Jobanputra 0, A Muzumdar not out 86; Extras: (lb 3, w 1, nb 4) 8; Total 187 for 2 in 76 overs; FoW: 1-38 (Kukreja, 16.1 ov), 2-39 (Indulkar, 17.5 ov); Bowling: SP Jobanputra 17.2-2-56-1 (1w), S Maniar 17.4-6-37-0 (3nb), K Vaghela 14-8-21-1, R Jadeja 22-5-52-0 (1nb), R Dhurv 5-2-18