Ranji Trophy: Mumbai pick three points from drawn game

Mumbai players after their match against TN yesterday. Pic/PTI

Chennai: Mumbai dismissed Tamil Nadu for 324 to secure a 164-run first-innings lead and three points on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match here on Tuesday. The visitors, who made 488 in the first innings riding on captain Aditya Tare's 154, enforced the follow-on and the match was called off with Tamil Nadu at 48 for one in 22 overs at the tea break. For Mumbai, left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (4/72) was the best bowler while pacers Tushar Deshpande and Royston Dias had two scalps each.

The home team, which trailed by 239 runs overnight, continued to frustrate the Mumbai bowlers on a slow track as Ravichandran Ashwin (79) and R Sai Kishore (42) showed a lot of patience. Ashwin had a stroke of luck too as Jay Bista, who took two very good catches on Monday, dropped him at leg-gully off Tushar Deshpande's bowling. The lanky off-spinner, who was on 33, made the most of the drop and went on to play attractive shots and also hit two big sixes off the spinners. Mumbai's toil ended when Sai Kishore was dismissed against the run of play. The southpaw was run out after he charged for a single and Ashwin did not respond.

The throw found Kishore short of his crease. Once the marathon eighth-wicket partnership, which yielded 105 runs, ended, Mumbai got the next two scalps rather easily. While No. 10 K Vignesh was leg-before to Mulani, Ashwin was bowled by the same bowler while going for a big heave. Armed with a first innings lead of 164 runs, Mumbai enforced follow-on. Tamil Nadu lost the wicket of L Suryapprakash (18) before the match was called off. Mumbai took their tally to nine points from four matches while Tamil Nadu were languishing at the bottom with two points from five games. Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant told reporters after the game that there was a need for 'friendly' wickets to keep days cricket alive.

"488 is a very good score. Somehow the wicket is very slow. Anyway we got first innings lead. I am very happy," he said. Brief Scores: Mumbai 488 all out in 148.4 overs (Aditya Tare 154, Shams Mulani 87, Shashank Attarde 58, Jay Bista 41; R Sai Kishore 4/125, R Ashwin 3/121) drew with Tamil Nadu 324 all out in 156.4 overs (R Ashwin 79, Kaushik Gandhi 60, Abhinav Mukund 58; Shams Mulani 4/72) and 48 for 1 in 22 overs. Mumbai: 3 points, TN: 1.

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