Tendulkar braves fever, Jaffer hits ton

Sachin Tendulkar braved fever to hit 122 while captain Wasim Jaffer smashed 301 to help Mumbai to a mammoth 637 for six on the second day of their four-day Ranji Trophy semifinal against Saurashtra in Chennai on Monday.

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Tendulkar, who faced 166 balls in 178 minutes for his knock which was studded with nine fours and five huge sixes, retired perhaps not being able to withstand the heat in the middle due to running temperature.u00a0

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The batting maestro stitched a 226-run stand off 410 balls with Jaffer.u00a0

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At close, Abhishek Nayar (29) and Ramesh Powar (8) were at the crease.

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Jaffer amassed his second triple ton (301) both against Saurashtra this season. After a fabulous innings of 635 minutes at the crease, Jaffer was out to a tired looking shot when he played Rakesh Dhruve towards on-side on the toss of the ball but gave a leading edge in offering a simple return catch.

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Jaffer continued to be in his elements and in the company of Tendulkar, who showed aggression from the word go and kept the board ticking at a faster pace.u00a0

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It was an emotional walk to the middle for Tendulkar, who opted to assist his state in their hunt for the 38th Ranji title.u00a0

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Coming on to the crease at the fall of Ajinkya Rahane (85), Tendulkar enthralled the sparse crowd using his bat as a magical wand and the manner in which he chose the gaps for driving was immaculate.

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Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 291 for one, Mumbai's Rahane was shaping up well towards achieving a deserving century but his stay at the crease ended as he stepped out to drive Makwana was holed out to Kotak.u00a0

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Then on, it turned out to be a fruitful innings as Jaffer in the company of Tendulkar made sure that they take the centre stage and take Mumbai to the road to achieve a final entry.

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Jaffer, required to lead from the front, did a perfect job and his mates from the dressing room came out to celebrate his triple century with a push through the cover point for a single of Dhruve. But, the joy was shortlived as jaffer was out with the addition of one more run.

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Amol Muzumdar, who required 42 runs to becoming the highest run-getter in the history of Ranji Trophy, failed when he fished an outside the off-stump delivery from Balakrishna Jadeja but snicked to the wicket-keeper Jogiyani.

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Rohit Sharma was adjudged leg before to Balakrishna Jadeja for 28 and Ajit Agarkar also made his exit with just two runs to his credit.