Ranji Trophy: Mumbai defeat Tamil Nadu by an innings and 70 runs

Shardul Thakur shone brightly with his allround performances as Mumbai defeated Tamil Nadu by an innings and 70 runs in the semifinals to enter the final of the Ranji TrophyAfter Thakurs stupendous 109run knock on day two Mumbai had a big lead of 232 runs in the first essay Tamil Nadus second innings ended for 162 runsBaba Indrajith 70 waged a lone battle for the visitors who were determined to make it big in their first Ranji Trophy knockout game in seven years but their batters failed to show up against the rampant Mumbai sideAlso Read IN PHOTOS Remembering legendary spinner Shane WarneTN again lost the wickets of their top order without any contribution Their middle order too crumbled against the pressure situations Baba Indrajith and Pradosh Ranjan Paul somehow milked 73 runs for the fourth wicketThe catalyst of Mumbais win was bowling allrounder Thakur 109 248 and 216 who dragged them back into the contest from a perilous state of 1067 in the first innings to an overall lead of 232 runs with his maiden century across formatsThakur was all over TN with a twowicket burst early on day three helping Mumbai reduce the visitors to 103 in the second inningsB Sai Sudharsan was given a reprieve by Shreyas Iyer at midwicket spilling a sitter in his first over but Thakur had the lefthanded opener caught behind with a superb inswinger that took an inside edgeThakur swung the new ball dangerously and snaffled the key wicket of N Jagadeesan for a sevenball duck Mohit Avasthi also tasted success when he had Washington Sundar promoted at No 3 caught behindAlso Read IN PHOTOS Players with most runs without a halfcentury in TestsWith the top order blown away recovery was a herculean task for TN but the pair of Indrajith and Pradosh Ranjan Paul did well to take the attack to the opposition and keep their side in the contestIndrajith was back in his usual elements cracking nine fours to make 70 off 105 balls but his resistance ended after nicking one behind to wicketkeeper Tamore off AvasthiMumbai spinners Tanush Kotian 218 and Shams Mulani 453 joined fellow pacers in piling up further misery on the TN batters sharing the remaining six wickets to wrap up the win for the hostsBut it was Kotian who took the initiative with wickets of Pradosh 25 and R Sai Kishore 21 before tea while leftarm spinner Mulani who had no wickets to show so far grabbed each of the final four to return with figures of 1351534 Earlier in the day Mumbai were bowled out for 378 with Sundar taking the final wicket to break the 10thwicket stand between Tushar Deshpande 26 and Kotian 89 not outBrief scores of Ranji Trophy semifinals Tamil Nadu 146 and 162 in 515 overs Baba Indrajith 70 Shardul Thakur 216 Shams Mulani 453 Tanush Kotian 218 lost to Mumbai 378 in 1065 overs Musheer Khan 55 Shardul Thakur 109 Tanush Kotian 89 R Sai Kishore 699 by an innings and 70 runsWith PTI Inputs