Ayush Pandey delivered a truly defiant century, single-handedly preventing Mumbai from clinching an outright victory against Chhattisgarh in their Group-D Ranji Trophy clash, even after the hosts had enforced a follow-on.
The match, held at the MCA-BKC ground on Tuesday, saw Mumbai’s veteran spinner Shams Mulani once again showcase his prowess, bagging an impressive five-wicket haul. This performance dismantled Chhattisgarh’s first innings for just 217 runs, putting Mumbai in a strong position to chase a full six points.
Mulani
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
With a commanding lead of 199 runs, the Mumbai team was understandably brimming with confidence, believing they could secure the remaining ten wickets in Chhattisgarh’s second innings. Their hopes soared even higher after swiftly picking up two early breakthroughs.
Yet, those ambitions were slowly chipped away by Ayush Pandey, who notched his second First-Class century (an unbeaten 117 runs from 168 balls, featuring 17 fours and 1 six). His unyielding batting, coupled with an unbroken 86-run partnership with captain Amandeep Khare, ultimately forced Mumbai to settle for just three points, earned from their first-innings lead.
The 22-year-old Ayush demonstrated remarkable patience and composure. Building on his first-innings fifty, he understood that the key was to remain calm and meticulously execute his strategy on a pitch that progressively favored the batsmen.
Mumbai’s attack primarily relied on their trio of spinners – Mulani, Musheer Khan, and Himanshu Singh – each managing to claim a single wicket. Out of 58 overs bowled, only seven were delivered by fast bowlers. Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur later clarified that this was a deliberate tactical choice to rest his pacemen during the second innings.
Despite Chhattisgarh losing two early wickets, Ayush adopted an aggressive stance against the left-arm spinners, actively seeking to score from incoming deliveries. Against Himanshu, he strategically focused his scoring shots on the off-side, minimizing risks and avoiding any potential errors.
Earlier in the match, Mulani had swiftly run through Chhattisgarh’s lower order, contributing to a collapse where the last four wickets fell for just 42 runs. This had ignited Mumbai’s fervent push for an outright victory, but ultimately, the match concluded in a somewhat anticlimactic draw.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: 416.
Chhattisgarh — 1st innings: Ayush Pandey c Raghuvanshi b Himanshu 50, Shashank Chandrakar c Sarfaraz b Himanshu 43, Ashutosh Singh c Raghuvanshi b Mulani 34, Sanjeet Desai lbw b Musheer 15, Amandeep Khare c Rahane b Musheer 1, Shashank Singh c Rahane b Himanshu 33, Ajay Mandal c Raghuvanshi b Mulani 0, Aditya Sarwate c Rahane b Mulani 11, Vasudev Bareth c Shardul b Mulani 9, Sourabh Majumdar c Shardul b Mulani 6, Ravi Kiran (not out) 0; Extras: (lb-12, nb-2, b-1): 15; Total (in 76.5 overs): 217.
Fall of wickets: 1-85, 2-114, 3-149, 4-151, 5-163, 6-167, 7-198, 8-198, 9-212.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul 3-0-24-0, Deshpande 5-0-28-0, Mulani 26.5-8-59-5, Himanshu 21-6-42-3, Irfan 6-2-13-0, Musheer 15-1-38-2.
Chhattisgarh — 2nd innings: Ayush Pandey (not out) 117, Shashank Chandrakar lbw b Himanshu 11, Ashutosh Singh c Rahane b Musheer 17, Sanjeet Desai b Mulani 26, Amandeep Khare (not out) 26; Extras: (b-4, lb-1): 5; Total (for three wkts. in 58 overs) 202.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-57, 3-116.
Mumbai bowling: Irfan 3-0-11-0, Himanshu 23-5-66-1, Mulani 19-4-81-1, Musheer 9-2-31-1, Deshpande 4-1-8-0.