Rohit Sharma returned to Ranji Trophy cricket after nearly a decade but his comeback lasted just 19 balls and could score only three runs. He was tested by experienced Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umar Nazir Mir who bowled a tight line and length outside off and gave nothing away to the Indian Test skipper in his first two overs of the Elite Group A match at MCA’s Bandra Kurla Complex ground on Thursday.
Nazir famously played in the last Ranji trophy clash against Mumbai at Wankhede in 2014 which J&K won by four wickets. He took five wickets in the match. He carried on that confidence of doing well at Wankhede a decade ago, to BKC and rattled Mumbai batters again.
The right-arm seamer tied up Rohit and got enough purchase from the wicket. He forced a mistake from Rohit in his 17th ball after the hit-man tried to break the shackles He tried his trademark pickup shot over midwicket but the ball did enough to find a leading edge to off-side with visitor’s skipper Paras Dogra making some ground from mid-off to extra cover to take the catch. Rohit could have dispatched that ball over midwicket but his red-ball struggles continue to haunt him. He has an average of just over 10 in the last 16 first-class innings which shows his struggles with the bat.
To accommodate Rohit and another opener Yashaswi Jaiswal, Mumbai had to drop inform regular openers including youngster Ayush Mhatre, the second-highest scorer for Mumbai after Shreyas Iyer. Mhatre has scored over 400 runs including a hundred (116) in the previous Ranji game against Services.
Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) fell to J&K’s top wicket-getter in the Ranji season, Auqib Nabi in the third over of the innings. He failed to read an incoming delivery that trapped him in front.
Nazir cleaned up skipper Ajinkya Rahane (12) with a full-pitch delivery that jagged in a little. Shreyas Iyer lifted the first ball for a six to a similar delivery. However, Iyer (11) also fell soon to Yudhvir Singh as all four Mumbai batters with international experience failed to put up a show. Shivam Dube didn’t trouble even the scorers and handed Nazir his fourth scalp.
Disappointed fans
Many spectators had turned up at BKC Ground to watch Rohit Sharma and other stars in action. MCA had arranged many chairs on two sides of the grounds for fans to witness the action. They had turned up in numbers and people from nearby corporate offices were also witnessing action from office balconies.
Although some spectators left after Jaiswal and Rohit departed, but as the day progressed the number of spectators increased again. Despite poor show by batters, they were cheering their bowlers up . Such enthusiasm of spectators is a rare sight in domestic cricket.
