Ranji Trophy Highlights, Day 2 Semifinal 2024: Shardul hundred puts Mumbai in control; MP 252 all out; Vidarbha loses Taide early

Mumbai 353/9 in 100 overs vs Tamil Nadu 146

Vidarbha 13/1 in 4 overs, 170 vs Madhya Pradesh 252

Two fours from Tushar Deshpande takes the lead past 200. Fifty partnership up between the last pair. Mumbai leads by 205 runs.

Early breakthrough for MP. Taide is caught leg before as he shoulders arms to a delivery which seams in. Vidarbha trails by 70 runs, 

Abhishek: Umesh Yadav and Yash Thakur return to wrap up the tail. MP bowled out for 252, leading by a healthy 82 runs. Kulwant Khejroliya is the last wicket to fall. 

Wicket!! Third wicket for Yash Thakur! Full on off stump, beats Kumar Kartikeya for pace and rattles the off-stump. A no-ball check but the foot is fine.

The centurion from the previous game adds another fifty in the semifinal. Pulls a short delivery to the leg side to bring up the landmark. Mumbai 317/9, leads by 171 runs. 

WICKET!! Anubhav Agarwal is beaten all ends up in his front foot defence by Aditya Sarwate. Two in a trice for Vidarbha. MP leads by 65.

Himanshu Mantri falls for a well-made 126. Tried a paddle behind but the keeper was upto the task, anticipating it and moving to the leg side. Second wicket for Wakhare. 

The new ball does the trick!! Extra bounce from Kuldeep Sen as Thakur goes from the booming drive. A clear edge through to the keeper. Mumbai leads by 144 runs. 

Aman Mokhade picks up a simple catch at cover to dismiss Saransh Jain for 30 off the bowling off Wakhare. MP leads by 48 vs Vidarbha. 

What a time to bring up your maiden Ranji Trophy hundred. Steps down the track against Ajith Ram and lofts it straight down the ground to bring up his century. Mumbai now leads by 129 runs.

Abhishek: A break in play as the MP physio rushes on to tend to Mantri. Not quite clear what the problem is but the batter gestures suggest he’s feeling dizzy.

Abhishek: MP loses just one wicket in the session and pulls 21 runs clear of the home team at 191/5 at Tea. Most importantly, Mantri is well set and on course for a big hundred. The third session will decide Vidarbha’s fate.

The lead is now 100! Shardul currently batting on 77 with Kotian accompanying him with 18. 

Sixteen runs off the Sai Kishore over. The shots that are connecting are flying over the boundary, the ones not are running behind off the edge. Mumbai with a strong 94-run lead over TN now. 

Himanshu Mantri delivers when it matters. A solid 210-ball hundred in the semifinal to put MP in a strong position against Vidarbha. MP 182/5 in 70.4 overs, leads by 12 runs. 

WICKET!! Kishore comes back into the attack to pick up his sixth. Hardik Tamore looked to turn the ball leg-side but ends up getting a leading edge to Washington at cover. 

Abhishek: Saransh Jain pulls a leaf out of his partner Mantri’s book and steps out against Akshay Wakhare and tonks him straight into the sight screen. MP leads by 1 run with five wickets still in hand.

Shardul smashes Ajith Ram straight over the ground for six to bring up his fifty! 54 now off just 57 balls. Mumbai leads by 58.

A runout brings the partnership to a halt. Sagar Slanki departs for 26. MP behind by 25.

Fifty partnership up between Himanshu Mantri and Sagar Solanki. Another dropped catch in the slips helping their case. MP now behind by just 25 runs. 

The partnership between Shardul and Tamore crosses 60. The TN bowlers been slightly off-radar since the lunch break allowing the two to stitch up a partnership. Mumbai leads by 26 runs. 

Shardul Thakur and Hardik Tamore have ensured that Mumbai take the lead against TN. But the way the pitch is behaving, it looks like the match will be done and dusted before the allocated five days. So, the lead might not amount to much. The pair will be looking to extend the lead as much as possible. 

Himanshu Mantri remains unbeaten on 59 but has seen three partners return back to the pavillion in the first session. He has put up a 19-run stand Sagar Solanki till lunch and the duo will hope to keep Vidarbha at bay after the break. 

Amol: 125/7 at lunch. 21 runs behind TN’s first innings total. Intriguing session first up. And still a long way to go.

WICKET!! Vicious turn leads to Shams Mulani’s downfall. Was short and wide, Mulani set up to cut, but the ball turns sharply and dislodges the stumps behind him. Two in the over for TN! Fifer for the Sai Kishore!

WICKET!! Four for Sai Kishore!! Musheer departs for 55! Tried to prod forward and defend, is beaten by the turn and Jagadeesan effects a lightning stumping behind.

Musheer brings up his fifty!! A mature knock from the youngster to wade through some good bowling from TN. Mumbai trails by 41 runs.

Saini: WICKET!! The ball is starting to keep venomously low. Another such delivery brings the end for Venkatesh Iyer who is leg before off Yash Thakur. 

Saini: Fifty for Himanshu Mantri off 123 balls. He’s played the waiting game well and accumulated runs. Would want to make the most of his reprieve now with a big score. MP 92/3, trails by 78 runs.

Abhishek Saini: WICKET!! One wicket brings two. Umesh Yadav’s searing pace is too good for Shubham Sharma who sees the ball skid on and rearrange his stumps. MP 86/3.

WICKET!!! Sandeep Warrier gets the big wicket of Shreyas Iyer. Length ball moving in to the right hand batter. Shreyas has a waft at it with no feet movement. The movemet does him in and knocks off middle stump. Mumbai trails by 50 runs.

WICKET!! Third wicket for Sai Kishore! Gets Rahane to prod forward and defend. Gets it to turn and bounce. Catches the shoulder of the bat and the slip fielder jumps forward to complete a good catch. He’s out for 19. Shreyas in at 5. 

WICKET! Yash Thakur’s length ball stays low and traps Gawali im front. MP 81/2, 89 behind Vidarbha.

The Musheer-Rahane partnership swells to 33. The pair has survived a few LBW appeals and has been beaten outside the off stump on more than one occassion. Mumbai trails by 65 runs. 

Dropped! Karun Nair drops Himanshu Mantri at first slip. Length ball on the stumps, moving away from the left hander. Took the edge and flew to Karun’s left but he spills it. Umesh misses out on a wicket in his very first over.

Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram in tandem put a plug on the run scoring after Sandeep Warrier was taken for a few. Musheer has looked confident so far and has a calm head in Rahane for support. 

Mantri guides a back of a length ball through vacant third man to bring up the fifty for the team. First boundary of the morning with Yash Thakur and Aditya Wakhare keeping the run scoring down with some disciplined bowling. 

A four through mid wicket brings up the fifty for Mumbai in its first innings. Mumbai trails TN by 90 runs. 

Sai Kishore starts of proceedings on Day 2. Nightwatchman Mohit Avasthi is beaten on the outside edge with one that spun a tad. Fielders stationed close to prevent the easy singles. An umpire review for stumping. WICKET!! Quick work from Jagadeesan behind the stumps and Avasthi is a goner. Early breakthrough for TN.

Tushar Deshpande came on to bowl in the ninth over of the day and broke the back of the Tamil Nadu top-order with three crucial strikes to put Mumbai in command on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal.

“A good day. We wanted to bowl first, and what stood out was how we bowled in the right channels instead of going for individual strengths,” said Deshpande.

“It was important to bowl in the right areas rather than bowling haywire with higher speeds, and it paid rich dividends.”

- Dipak Ragav

Read full article by clicking on the link below

Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semifinals: Focus on line and length, rather than speed, paid dividends, says Tushar Deshpande

The 28-year-old pacer also spoke about how vital it is not to get swayed by the conditions where there is good bounce and carry in terms of finding the proper lengths.

The semifinal matches between TN and Mumbai as well as Vidarbha and MP will be streamed live on the Jio Cinema app and website. 

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the Ranji Trophy semifinals. Stay Tuned for all scores and updates from Day 2 of TN vs MUM and VID vs MP.