Ranji Trophy: ‘I have to take responsibility as a batsman too,' says Arpit Vasavada

Skipper Arpit Vasavada rescues Saurashtra with fighting 75 after being in dire straits at 127-5, says captaincy doesn’t impact his batting; Mumbai’s left-arm spinner Shams Mulani claims four as visitors are dismissed for 289

It was a day of mixed feelings for Mumbai against Saurashtra in their Group B Ranji Trophy match at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla Complex ground on Tuesday. The home team did well to bowl out the visitors for 289. However, they lost both their openers with just 36 on the board at stumps on the opening day.  

When Mumbai’s opening pair of Prithvi Shaw (4) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) occupied the crease with just eight overs of play remaining in the day, it looked like the Saurashtra pacers had something on their minds. And it worked in their favour when left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya (1-5) beat Shaw twice and then clean bowled him on the fifth ball of the very first over. Later, Chirag Jani, (1-10) disturbed Jaiswal’s furniture off a fuller length delivery.

To everyone’s surprise, Saurashtra skipper Arpit Vasavada replaced Jani after his first over with left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who Suryakumar Yadav (18 not out) hit for three successive fours. Captain Ajinkya Rahane remained unbeaten on 12.

Shams Mulani at MCA’s BKC ground yesterday

Earlier, opting to bat, Saurashtra suffered an early blow when pacer Tushar Deshpande (2-36) trapped opener Harvik Desai (12) in the 11th over and then Shashank Attarde (2-77) sent back opener Jay Gohil (21) with a quick throw from point.

In-form left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (4-109) bowled well, sending back the dangerous Sheldon Jackson (47, 5x4, 2x6). On 22, Jackson survived a scare when wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore failed to stump him off off-spinner Attarde’s very first over. Mulani went wicketless in his first 12 overs. However, in his first over after the lunch break, he dismissed Jackson through Tamore.

In his next over, he beat Samarth Vyas’s (0) defence and disturbed his furniture, something that got him his century of wickets in only his 22nd first-class game.  

Half of Saurashtra’s batting side was in the dressing room with just 127 runs on the board. However, Vasavada, who scored 127 in the last game against Maharashtra, showcased the same confidence, scoring 75 with the help of nine fours. The left-hander did well to counter the spin and was equally good while driving and cutting. “I am seeing a pitch like this in Mumbai after a long time. The ball was turning on Day One itself. As a batsman too, I have to take responsibility. But yes, captaincy adds to the seriousness [of the responsibility], as there’s more responsibility on your shoulders,” Vasavada said.

Meanwhile, the match witnessed a rare occurrence of two brothers playing in the Mumbai XI—batsman Sarfaraz Khan and debutant left-arm spinner Musheer, who was introduced in the 58th over. Musheer conceded 21 runs in five overs without taking a wicket. The last set of brothers to represent Mumbai in first-class cricket was Ghulam and Zulfiqar Parkar. Their last game together was the 1984-85 Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu.

Also Read: Surya, Rahane delight BKC crowd apart from Jaiswal

Brief scores
Saurashtra 289 all out (A Vasavada 75, S Jackson 47; S Mulani 4-109, T Deshpande 2-36, S Attarde 2-77) v Mumbai 36-2 (Suryakumar 18*)

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