TALKING POINTS
Follow UsPrithvi starts well, Shaw gets out
The out-of-favour opener, who hasn’t played for India since August 2021, has been in decent touch since returning from his knee injury but is making a habit of getting out after getting set. Since his return, the opener has got out between 30-49 five times in eight innings. He has two substantial scores in this period - 159 vs Chhattisgarh and 87 vs Baroda - but these numbers are not going to get him anywhere close to the national set-up.
Vidarbha’s new-ball bowlers Umesh Yadav and Aditya Thakare lacked control in the first hour and that allowed Shaw to find early boundaries. The 24-year-old was looking in dangerous touch but it all changed once Harsh Dubey came into the attack. Shaw top-edged a couple of slog sweeps but the ball fell in no man’s land. The left-arm spinner then dropped one slightly fuller and Shaw went the same shot, only to make no connection. He got out for 46 as Mumbai lost both their openers in the space of eight runs. And then came the collapse.
Iyer, Rahane continue to be terrible
You have years of international experience, your team has lost three wickets in quick succession, and what do Shreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane do? They play loose shots and make their team’s life even more difficult. From 81 for no loss to 92 for 3 to 111 for 6, Mumbai allowed Vidarbha to come back in the match after getting off to a solid start.
Iyer was the first one to go. The 29-year-old was under pressure, having been dropped from the Test set-up. He featured in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu after being blasted for skipping the quarter-final despite being cleared by the NCA. The middle-order batter, who hasn’t been offered a central contract, could only score 3 before getting knocked over by Sandeep Warrier.
Today was his chance to prove the selectors wrong but Iyer once again failed to make an impact. Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar brought his quickest bowler - Umesh - into the attack the moment Iyer walked into bat. The former India paceman kept hitting the length outside off and had Iyer waiting for the short delivery. He eventually poked one to the slip cordon and walked back to the hut after scoring just 7 off 15.
Rahane, meanwhile, looked determined to fight it out for Mumbai but the 35-year-old too soon ran out of patience. After facing 34 deliveries for his 7 runs, Rahane charged down the track to loft Dubey over mid-off but failed to clear the field. He now has just 119 runs across 11 innings @ 11.9 in this season. With Shivam Dube injured and Rahane struggling for runs, Mumbai’s middle-order has one of the worst averages in the tournament.
Thakur at it again
Mumbai were 111/6 but none of the Vidarbha players were looking too comfortable. “They are the best Nos. 9 and 10 in India. I told this in the dressing room that their batting starts after No. 6” - this is what Tamil Nadu head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni had to say after losing the semi-final against Mumbai and you could feel where this statement was coming from. After getting bundled out for 146 in the first innings, Tamil Nadu reduced Mumbai to 106/7 and were right in the game, but that’s when Shardul Thakur went crazy.
The fast-bowling allrounder smoked his maiden first-class century and alongside Tanush Kotian, and Tushar Deshpande, batted Tamil Nadu out of the contest. With the frontline batters disappointing once again, the onus was on him and the lower-order to bail Mumbai out. Thakur responded and smashed 75 off 69 to lead his team to 224, with the last four wickets adding 113 runs.
Shams Mulani (13), Kotian (8) and Deshpande (14) didn’t score much but stuck around to help Thakur put Vidarbha under some sort of pressure. There’s a reason why Mumbai’s lower-order (8-11) has the best average and balls/wicket amongst all teams from the Elite Groups. Thakur hit eight fours and three maximums and was super aggressive against spinners, versus whom he averages 94 in this competition. He eventually got out to Umesh.
Kulkarni makes an impact in his last game
Playing his last professional match, Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed Aman Mokhade and Karun Nair before the end of the day’s play to bring Mumbai back into the contest. Thakur got the first wicket of Dhruv Shorey before Kulkarni had the Mokhade and Nair caught behind to reduce Vidarbha to 31/3, still trailing by 193 runs.
The 35-year-old, who is set to retire after this game, bowled with tremendous control with the new ball. Mokhade first pushed at an away-swinging delivery and ended up edging it to the wicketkeeper. Nair was the next one to go, making the same mistake. If Mohit Avasthi was fit, Kulkarni would have probably been sitting out, but now that he is here, the veteran paceman would want to retire on a high.
