The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Baroda tightens noose around Mumbai

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Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007
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Baroda tightens noose around Mumbai

Nandakumar Marar

VADODARA: Baroda tightened the stranglehold over Mumbai gradually, driving home the advantage by bowling out the visitor for 233 before close on day one of the Ranji Trophy cricket championship semifinal here on Tuesday.

Irfan Pathan (three for 49), who bowled in four spells, struck an early blow to deceive opener Wasim Jaffer in the ninth over. Rakesh Patel (three for 53and spinner Rajesh Pawar (two for 94) sustained the pressure.

Amol Muzumdar held the innings with a watchful and strokeful 97 to lift his team from 75 four to a fighting 200-plus on a wicket which changed its nature by stumps.

Bounce

The bounce for the new ball bowlers in the morning was tough on the batsmen and by evening, survival became tougher with a few deliveries keeping low. The home team openers Connor Williams and Satyajit Parab face tough times ahead.

Jaffer, dropped by Yusuf Pathan in the slips with 10 runs on the board, was beaten by an incoming delivery from Pathan and was out leg before. Baroda had struck a huge psychological blow as the India spearhead, nippy and frugal in the morning, bowled 22.5 overs on a hot day, shouldering the responsibility after his captain Jacob Martin decided to field on winning the toss.

Switching ends

The left-arm paceman switched ends, went round the wicket against Muzumdar, and finally got his man as he edged to Yusuf at gully, three short of a century.

The scores:

Mumbai — 1st innings: Wasim Jaffer lbw b Irfan Pathan 22, Sahil Kukreja b R. Patel 14, Hiken Shah c R. Solanki b R. Pawar 10, Amol Muzumdar c Yusuf Pathan b Irfan Pathan 97, Rohit Sharma (run out) 6, Abhishek Nair c Panchal b Yusuf Pathan 30, Wilkin Mota c Jacob Martin b Pawar 4, Vinayak Samant b Patel 20, Nilesh Kulkarni lbw b Patel 0, Swapnil Hazare lbw b Irfan Pathan 0, Rajesh Verma (not out) 1, Extras (b-4, lb-12, nb-13): 29; Total (all out in 79.5 overs): 233.

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-40, 3-59, 4-75, 5-145, 6-162, 7-206, 8-206, 9-222.

Baroda bowling: Irfan Pathan 22.5-6-49-3, Rakesh Patel 20-7-53-3, Rajesh Pawar 22.3-3-94-2, Shekhar Joshi 8-4-9-0, Yusuf Pathan 6.3-2-12-1.

Baroda — 1st innings: Connor Williams (batting) 0, Satyajit Parab (batting) 8; Extras (nb-1): 1; Total (without loss in three overs) 9.

Mumbai bowling: Rajesh Verma 2-1-1-0, Swapnil Hazare 1-0-8-0.

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