Lad, Dias propel Mumbai to victory

Lad, Dias propel Mumbai to victory

Siddhesh Lad’s 125-ball 129 was studded with 11 fours and four sixes. © AFP

On the second day of the Vijay Hazare All-India 50-over tournament, Gujarat fell short by 41 runs in their chase against Mumbai in the Group C match at the Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering Ground in Chennai on Tuesday (February 6).

In the other Group C games, Andhra posted a comfortable victory while Goa pulled off a surprise win. Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, and Vidarbha emerged winners in Group D.

Back to the Mumbai-Gujarat game, Siddhesh Lad’s 125-ball 129, studded with 11 fours and four sixes, helped Mumbai post a formidable 317 for 8. In response, Gujarat were all out for 276 in 47.4 overs.

Gujarat didn’t have a great start to their chase as Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed Samit Gohel (four) early on. Dhruv Raval (19) too didn’t last long with Royston Dias dismissing him caught behind.

Priyank Panchal, the captain, then led from the front and added 101 for the third wicket with Bhargav Merai. At the score of 161, Shubham Ranjane got Panchal lbw for 89. Panchal hit seven fours and two sixes in his 96-ball effort.

To dent the chase further, Dias then accounted for Merai whose busy 63-ball 64 included just three fours. At that stage, Gujarat needed 115 off 81 deliveries with six wickets still in hand but the Mumbai bowlers struck at regular intervals to see the side home.

Dias registered figures of 4 for 64, while Kulkarni and Shivam Malhotra chipped in with two wickets each.

Earlier, after Gujarat won the toss and asked Mumbai to bat, Rohit Dahiya struck straightaway, dismissing Jay Bista in the fourth over of the innings with only 13 runs on the board.

Akhil Herwadkar and Lad steadied the innings and took the team past 100. The duo added 88 for the second wicket. The stand was broken when Herwadkar fell to Rujul Bhatt for 37. Suryakumar Yadav scored a run-a-ball 21 before Chintan Gaja trapped him in front to leave Mumbai 139 for 3 in the 28th over.

Aditya Tare, the captain, then joined hands with Lad and provided the innings much need impetus, adding 127 runs in just 96 balls. Lad, who had consumed 67 balls for his fifty, needed only 31 deliveries more to bring up his second List-A hundred off just 98 balls. Tare hit six fours during his 56-ball 51.

Ishwar Chaudhary struck with Tare’s wicket in the 44th over of the innings. Two overs later, Lad too fell to Piyush Chawla but Ranjane (22 off 13) and Kulkarni (10 not out off 7) ensured that Mumbai didn’t lose the momentum.

For Gujarat, Chaudhary was the most successful bowler, picking up 3 for 46.