Sarfaraz Khan (78 off 126 balls) and Shams Mulani (59* off 171 balls) resurrected Mumbai’s innings with a 109-run partnership for the fifth wicket after Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s early blows. But the Saurashtra left-arm spinner came back stronger as his maiden fifer (5/90) of the season restricted Mumbai to 249 for the loss of eight wickets on day one of the Ranji Trophy fixture here on Tuesday.
Despite a greenish patch, the wicket at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium has been assisting spinners, thanks to multiple cracks on the surface.
Dharmendrasinh took full advantage of it, causing a mini-collapse in the morning session after Jay Bista and Bhupen Lalwani had given Mumbai a good start.
The lanky spinner first trapped Bista in front of the stumps and then, forced Lalwani to make a mistake for a regulation catch to mid-off. Sandwiched between the two dismissals was the big scalp of Suryakumar Yadav, who was unfortunate to be adjudged lbw off Prerak Mankad for a duck.
With Mumbai having lost three for 12 in five overs, Sarfaraz — having been unbeaten for 527 runs coming into the game — started the rebuilding act along with Siddhesh Lad but the diminutive Lad fell just before lunch to Dharmendrasinh’s ploy of bowling a straight line.
At 93 for four, Mumbai had its backs to the wall but the right-left combination of Sarfaraz and Mulani ensured a wicketless second session. While Sarfaraz rotated the strike well, Mulani defended staunchly.
The duo had an aggressive intent after tea with Mulani hitting a six off Kamlesh Makwana over long-off in the first over.
Sarfaraz took the cue and targetted the off-spinner for a six and a four in the next. However, the seasoned Makwana had the last laugh as one that spun and kept low resulted in crashing into the stumps of Sarfaraz. The dismissal was Sarfaraz’s first after scoring 605 runs.
Despite Mulani’s sensible batting, Dharmdendrasinh led Saurashtra’s resurgence to ensure it didn’t miss Jaydev Unadkat’s services at all.
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