Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad celebrates his century on day two of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D cricket match between Mumbai and Delhi at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai, Maharashtra. (PTI Photo) MUMBAI: Enjoying the form of his life, Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad smashed his fifth hundred of the season – his fourth on the trot – to cross the 700-run milestone in the Ranji Trophy for the first time to continue his side’s dominance over Delhi in their final Ranji Trophy league match at the MCA ground in BKC on Friday.In reply to 221, Mumbai looked shaky at one point when they were reduced to 136 for five as in-form Sarfaraz Khan fell for 24 (27b, 4×4) but Lad, known as the Mumbai team’s ‘crisis man’ for ages, joined forces with Suved Parkar (53) not out, 2b4xten, 26xten 130 runs in 211 balls for the sixth goal. Buoyed by the duo’s stand, Mumbai finished the day on 266 for five, ahead by 45 runs.This season, Lad is in fruitful contact with now in August in the company of Mumbai cricket legends. He is only the third Mumbai batsman to score five centuries in a single edition of the Ranji Trophy—Rusi Modi did it in 1944-45 and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar did it in 1994-95. The 33-year-old, who is currently the fourth highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy this season with 736 runs in seven matches at 105.14, will have a chance to break the record of these greats when Mumbai play their quarter-final match at the BKC from February 6. Lad started the 2025-26 season with a century (116) against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar, followed by 80 against Chhattisgarh in the BKC. In his last four Ranji Trophy matches, he smashed centuries against Himachal (127 in BKC), (170 against Pondicherry), 104 against Hyderabad and then 102 against Delhi. He looked fluid and relaxed scoring runs in every outing, finding gaps at will. If Lad continues his rich run of form in the knock-outs as well, will the national selectors consider middle-order batting for the Test series against Sri Lanka in August? Even in the 2024-25 season, Lad, whose father-cum-coach Dinesh is the childhood coach of former Indian captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Shardul Thakur, was in fine form and finished as Mumbai’s top scorer, scoring 602 runs in seven matches @ 60.20, with two hundreds and as many fifties. In fact, it’s an incredible comeback for a man who played for Goa in 2022-23, missed 2023-24 as he was served a ‘cooling off’ period (mandatory for those who leave Mumbai to play for another state) and only returned to play for Mumbai in the final season. Arriving at the crease in the morning when Mumbai were 18 for two, having lost the nightwatchman Tushar Deshpande (1), Lad looked at ease throughout his stay at the crease, starting with a lovely flick to mid-wicket for four by Bunty Grewal before cutting, pulling and driving away Delhi’s seamers with authority while sweeping and punching with ease. Mumbai were 44 for three when they lost Akhil Herwadkar (12, he was hit by bouncer Money Grewal earlier in the day) but Lad calmed their nerves with a 117-ball 63 with Musheer Khan (57, 114b, 7×4). Unfortunately for Musheer, the youngster had to return to the pavilion to the wailing of the umpire as the batsman was adjudged to have been caught behind the leg of debutant left-arm spinner Rahul Chaudhary despite daylight between bat and ball. Sarfaraz, who brought up a double century in the last Ranji match against Hyderabad, hit some beautiful boundaries during his brief stay at the crease, but it was Parkar who gave Lad solid support and Mumbai the advantage when he pulled Chaudhary to deep mid-wicket for a six.Asked if he was hoping for a first call-up to India sometime this year, Lad said he was not looking too far ahead, although his aim remained to play for India. “My ultimate goal has always been to play for this country. But right now I’m just trying to do my job. My first goal is to win the Ranji Trophy with Mumbai because I’ve come back from another state and MCA has shown confidence in me,” he later told reporters.
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