Mumbai batsmen's stunning knocks help them declare at 671 in first essay vs MEG

Had Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane 96 11x4 1x6 and allrounder Shardul Thakur 84 9x4 5x6 not missed getting to their centuries against Meghalaya on Friday there may have been five centurions in the Mumbai innings on Day Two of their Elite Group lsquoArsquo Ranji Trophy match at the MCABKC ground The three centurymakers were Siddhesh Lad 145 17x4 1x6 Akash Anand 103 15x4 and Shams Mulani 100 not out 16x4 all contributing massively to Mumbairsquos 6717 declaredShams Mulani after scoring ton and Akash Anand during his 103Chakraborty bags a pairWhen Meghalaya began their second innings with hardly halfan hour of play left their batters looked clueless on how to counter pacer Thakur Opener Nishanta Chakraborty bagged a pair in the game when Thakur clean bowled him off the first ball of the innings He then trapped nightwatchman Himan Phukan 0 leg before off the third ball to reduce Meghalaya to 1 for 2 after the first over The visitors ended the day at 272Also ReadApart from being a big cricketer he is also a very good human being Nafees Siddique on this playerShardul Thakur in full flow during his quickfire 84 right Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane en route his 96Earlier Mumbairsquos overnight batsmen Lad and Rahane started the day on a cautious note Rahane managed to add just 13 runs to his Thursdayrsquos score and missed his first century of the season by four runs edging one to wicketkeeper Arpit Bhatewara off pacer Nafees Siddique Lad who scored an unbeaten 169 against Odisha last November was out of the playing XI against Jammu amp Kashmir last week On Friday he displayed his hunger for runs He put on 196 with Rahane in a third wicket standLad 32 unbeaten with 89 on Thursday evening celebrated his 10th firstclass century in 72 firstclass games with a single His six and a halfhour marathon knock came to an end when his pull shot off leftarm spinner Anish Charak 2185 went straight to midwicket fielder Kishan Lyngdoh Then wicketkeeperbatsman Akash Anand 103 15x4 playing only in his second firstclass game and Suryansh Shedge 61 4x4 1x6 grabbed the opportunityShedgersquos attacking inningsBatting at No 5 Anand shared two good partnerships first with Lad 87 runs and then with No 6 Shedge 123 runs Shedge looked in a more attacking mood as he reached his halfcentury with a four and then smashed a six over the longon fielderrsquos head However he was bowled by legspinner Phukan 3144 while playing on the back foot Mulani was the third centurion with an 86ball 100 not out which included 16 fours Mulani notched up his maiden firstclass century after scoring 18 fifties and 1919 runs from 47 firstclass games under his beltLad returned to the Mumbai team after playing for Goa in the 202223 season ldquoI am someone who underestimates myself a lot so I never thought that I would be back playing for Mumbai again I told myself that the opportunity would come and I have to be ready for it Kudos to the support staff they really worked hard on me since June 2024 I had a talk with head coach Omkar Salvi sir at the start of the season about what my role will be When will I get the opportunity So he got me ready for this situationrdquo Lad told reportersPlaying for love of the game AnandMumbai wicketkeeperbatsman Akash Anand fractured his wrist during a Purshottam Shield match a couple of months ago but recovered in time to score his maiden firstclass century 103 15x4 against Meghalaya on Friday Hardik Tamore was the first choice wicketkeeperbatter in the previous game against Jammu amp Kashmir but in a mustwin game versus Meghalaya Anand who represents Cricket Club of India in local tournaments got his chance and capitalised on it by scoring a century in his second firstclass matchldquoI am not playing cricket to get selected I am playing for the love of the game Scoring runs and winning for the team is most important for merdquo Anand told reporters on Friday ldquoOur main motive was to bat just once in this game to get a bonus point So that was the biggest motivation mdash to bat long and stay focused irrespective of their Meghalaya first innings score We did not want to take any chances with regards to our second innings battingrdquo added Anand who represented Chilaw Marians Cricket Club during a 2022 List A tournament in Sri Lanka