Vijay Hazare: Mumbai strangles Gujarat to win by 98 runs

Chasing 274, Gujarat was dismissed for 175. There was little respite for Gujarat as the Mumbai bowlers adopted an old fashioned line and length, stump-to-stump method. And the fielding was sharp.

Mumbai’s Siddhesh Lad (left) and Aditya Tare put on 117 run for the fifth wicket.

 

On a surface that got progressively slower, Gujarat erred by opting to chase. Parthiv Patel’s move boomeranged.

Mumbai, clinical on the field, strangulated Gujarat to romp home in this marquee clash by 98 runs in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament here on Saturday.

Chasing 274, Gujarat was dismissed for 175. There was little respite for Gujarat as the Mumbai bowlers adopted an old fashioned line and length, stump-to-stump method. And the fielding was sharp.

Paceman Shivam Malhotra bowled capably, operating in the channel and bringing about subtle variations in pace. He took out the left-handed Parthiv, caught in the slips with a peach of a delivery that moved away.

Shivam also dismissed in-form opener Priyank Panchal (32) with a shift in speed; the Gujarat batsman was brilliantly held at covers by Shreyas Iyer.

And pace spearhead Shardul Thakur, who was lively, had Manpreet Juneja caught at covers off a delivery that appeared to pop up. For Gujarat, it was game over at this point.

The wily Abhishek Nayar sent down his seamers with typical control and the 45-year-old leg-spinner Pravin Tambe achieved some turn and bounce.

The day began differently for Mumbai. Jolted by Jasprit Bumrah at the start, Mumbai recovered through an enterprising 117-run partnership in 102 deliveries for the fifth wicket between skipper Aditya Tare (83, 81b, 13x4) and Siddesh Lad (64, 60b, 2x4, 5x6).

Among Bumrah’s two early strikes was a big scalp – Shreyas Iyer. The lanky paceman, who employs the long lever in his action by bringing his arm up from way down, castled Shreyas Iyer (9) with a delivery that nipped back.

Left-handed opener Akhil Herwadkar (41, 49b, 2x4, 1x6) batted efficiently before falling to impressive medium-pacer Chirag Parmar who seamed the ball around from a mean length.

But perhaps Gujarat erred by giving Bumrah seven overs on the trot and not leaving enough space for the spearhead to bowl in the middle of the innings.

Parthiv needed to bring Bumrah on when Lad came on to the crease. In fact, Lad never got to face Bumrah and this was among the factors in the Mumbai recovery.

The busy Tare cut and punched well, found the gaps and rotated the strike. But then, he was fortunate to be reprieved at point off Parmar when on 29.

Lad, with a smooth bat flow, displayed the ability to clear the ground with ease. Towards the end, Aditya Dhumal (32 not out) made handy runs. But then, Gujarat let Mumbai off the hook.

The scores: Mumbai 273 for nine in 50 overs (Akhil Herwadkar 41, Aaditya Tare 83, Siddesh Lad 64, Aditya Dhumal 32 not out, Chirag Parmar four for 42) beat Gujarat 175 in 41.4 overs (Priyank Panchal 32, Rohit Dahiya 31, Shivam Malhotra three for 49).