Musheer Khan and Ajinkya Rahane (X) Mumbai: While the veterans pulled Mumbai out of trouble on the first two days, the youngsters led the way on Day Three as Mumbai reduced Chhattisgarh to 176/6 in the Elite Group D Ranji Trophy match at the MCA Ground on Monday, still trailing by 241. The match was delayed by one-and-a-half hours due to a wet pitch and then Mumbai added just eight runs to their overnight total before their innings ended on 416. With the pitch not offering much help to the pacers, Chhattisgarh got off to a steady start from their openers Ayush Pandey (50, 89b; 7×4) and Shashank Chandrakar (43, 112b; 5×4, 1×6) who put 85 runs on the board.
India vs Australia: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma rewrite history at SCG
The duo looked good even after lunch before young spinner Himanshu Singh (2/33) and Musheer Khan (2/29) tilted the match in Mumbai’s favour. Angkrish Raghuvanshi also performed well in the close positions and took three good catches. With Shams Mulani also chipping in with two wickets, Chhattisgarh’s innings collapsed as they lost six wickets for just 82 runs. Chhattisgarh’s slide was started by 22-year-old Himanshu, playing in place of Tanush Kotian, when he dismissed the left-hander Pandey – well caught by Raghuvanshi at silly point. The off-spinner, who made his debut last season, kept the Chhattisgarh batsmen at bay, scoring more than five runs in an over at one point. He then had Chandrakar caught by Sarfaraz Khan when his leg slipped. Musheer took over from where Himanshu left off and as the pitch began to tighten and turn, he immediately hit his stride, making the ball do the talking. The 20-year-old first trapped Sanjeet Desai (15, 33b; 1×4) in the last over before tea. The left-arm spinner then returned after the tea session to dismiss skipper Amandeep Khare, with Ajinkya Rahane caught well low at first slip. While the young guns set the scene, the experienced Mulani came into his own in the final session, dismissing Ashutosh Singh (34, 56b; 3×4) and Ajay Mandal in back-to-back overs – both caught by Raghuvanshi at silly point and short leg. But when Mumbai were about to go for the kill, rain interrupted proceedings and there was no play after that. Only 64 overs were bowled on the third day. Earlier, left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate (5/103) dismissed Tushar Deshpande, one of two Mumbai wickets that fell in the opening session, to claim his 22nd five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.Ready to bat in any position: Anand Wicketkeeper Akash Anand, who made his debut last season, has moved up the batting order in Mumbai but has no problem with that and is only focused on the team doing well. The 30-year-old bats for the Cricket Club of India in domestic matches and was at ease when he scored a century in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha last season. His first ton came against Meghalaya during a group match when he was batting at No. 5. He has been batting up the order at No. 8 this season and scored a decisive 61 to take Mumbai’s score past 400 against Chhattisgarh. “I have been given a specific role and I have been told that depending on the composition of the team and the players available, my role will change. So I am open to bat anywhere. I have opened in the past and now if the situation calls for it, I will open. Otherwise, that is the number I will bat at,” Anand said on Monday.
