Mumbai was bowled out for paltry 120 in 33.2 overs immediately after lunch, as Jammu and Kashmir pacers put on a show on the first day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at MCA’s Bandra Kurla Complex Ground here on Thursday. J&K ended Day 1 at 174/7 in 42 overs with skipper Paras Dogra unbeaten on 19. For the defending champions Mumbai, Mohit Avasthi took three wickets, and Shams Mulani took two wickets. Shardul Thakur and Shivam Dube scalped one each.
Right-arm J&K seamer Umer Nazir (4/41) was the star of the day. He ran through the top order while Yudhvir Singh (4/31) also scalped four wickets to send shockwaves in the Mumbai camp and rekindle the memories of 2014 at Wankhede.
Nazir removed Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Tamore, and Dube. Yudhvir sent back Shreyas Iyer and Mulani in no time as the hosts were reduced to 47/7 inside 18 overs and were staring at a greater humiliation. Jaiswal and Rahane were undone by good balls however, Rohit and Iyer played seemingly false shots considering the wicket and situation.
Auqib Nabi (2/36) who is the second most wicket-taker this season in the Ranji Trophy started the downfall of Mumbai by trapping Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) in front in the third over of the innings.
Allrounder Thakur took Mumbai’s score past 100 with a knock of 51 runs in 57 balls. He steadied the ship with Tanush Kotian and ensured no further loss till lunch. The pitch also settled down a bit after one and a half hour and offered less help to pacers. The visitors, however, had done the maximum damage by making optimum use of the early morning conditions on a cool winter morning with a gentle breeze going their way.
Shardul was unbeaten on 38 at lunch and Kotian on 26*. Kotian however, failed to add to his score after lunch and fell to Nabi in the first over. Mohit Avasthi was out on zero to Yudhvir. Shardul hit Yudhvir for six and brought up his fifty later with a single in just 51 balls. But he soon holed out to long-on as Mumbai’s first innings folded up for 120 in 33.2 overs. Jammu and Kashmir bowlers bowled 135 dots and were all over Mumbai in the first 90 minutes appealing every ball. They were unlucky to get a few close calls against them.
The visitors had a shaky start. as Vivrant Sharma was removed by Avasthi on four. Shubham Khajuria who won man-of-the-match in 2014 at Wankhede, was dropped in second slip by Iyer off Thakur on four and went on to make 53 runs in 75 balls.
Yawer Hassan brought the innings on track with Khajuria and just when Yawer (29) looked set for a big one he fiddled on the legside to gift a wicket to Shivam Dube. IPL star Abdul Samad gave good company to Khajuria as they put on 58 for the third wicket to inch closer to Mumbai’s first-innings total. However, both Samad (19) and Khajuria fell in quick succession to give Mumbai a sniff. J&K equaled Mumbai’s score in the 30th over with half the side pack in the pavilion.
40-year-old Dogra, a veteran of 140 FC games took visitors from 113/5 to 164/6 in the company of lefthander Abid Mushtaq who scored attacking 44 before being adjuged lbw off Avasthi. Nabi fell second ball to Avasthi.