The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Rohit, tail-enders help Mumbai to a comfortable position

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Rohit, tail-enders help Mumbai to a comfortable position

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

SUCCESSFUL APPEAL: Mumbai’s Iqbal Abdulla has Sanjay Bangar caught by Omkar Khanvilkar (left) on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Mumbai looked set for a deserving win against Railways after the third day’s play of the Ranji Trophy Super League match at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Thursday.

Thanks to useful contributions from its tail-enders, Mumbai extended its lead to 97 runs before closing the first innings at 284.

Rohit sizzles

Overnight batsman Rohit Sharma reaching his sixth first class century and Railways captain Murali Kartik achieving his 26th five-for were the other highlights of the morning session.

Later, the visiting team tightened its grip as the home team, desperate to save the match, ended the day at 174 for seven.

Operating in tandem, the left-arm spinner duo of Harmeet Singh and Iqbal Abdulla emerged as the bowling heroes for Mumbai.

Harmeet shines

Harmeet, playing his second Ranji match, tested the Railways batsmen by mixing his orthodox deliveries with well-disguised straighter ones. “I am aiming at my first five-wicket haul as well as the team’s victory,” said the 17-year-old.

For Railways, opener Faiz Fazal and Sanjib Sanyal batted sensibly. Later, M. Suresh and Karan Sharma put up a fight to keep the chances alive for the host on the final day.

The scores (Super League):

At Delhi: Railways 187 and 174 for seven in 77 overs (Faiz Fazal 42, Sanjib Sanyal 40) vs. Mumbai 284 in 118 overs (Wasim Jaffer 75, Rohit Sharma 101, Murali Kartik five for 81).

At Kolkata: Saurashtra 650 for nine decl. vs. Bengal 319 for two in 98 overs (Arindam Das 136 batting, Deep Dasgupta 61, Manoj Tiwary 102 batting).

At Hyderabad: Orissa 276 and 159 for four in 62 overs vs. Hyderabad 199 in 83.3 overs (Anirudh Singh 45, Debasis Mohanty four for 48).

At Pune: Maharashtra 105 and 254 for five in 68 overs (A. Bawne 117 batting, R. Motwani 78) vs. Karnataka 553 for four decl. in 153.4 overs (K.B. Pawan 152, G. Satish 141, Amit Verma 148 not out, B. Akhil 54 not out).

At Mohali: Gujarat 160 and 227 for seven in 62 overs (Rujul Bhatt 93 batting) vs. Punjab 444 in 149.5 overs (Rahul Sharma 95, Taruwar Kohli 118, Sunny Sohal 59, Salil Yadav six for 123).

At Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh 536 for seven decl. vs. Delhi 202 in 60.4 overs and 104 for two in 28 overs (Virat Kohli 61 batting).

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