Kulkarni’s Four-Wicket Haul Puts Mumbai In Driver’s Seat In Ranji Final

Dhawal Kulkarni celebrating a wicket of Saurashtra with His Mumbai teammates. Image Source: Twitter @ranjimumbai
Dhawal Kulkarni celebrating a wicket of Saurashtra with His Mumbai teammates. Image Source: Twitter @ranjimumbai

Internet Desk: Saurashtra would look back on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final in the Maharastra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune and know that they received the full effect of the Mumbai force in tournament finals. It was a slow, extremely hard-working grind for the second-time finalists as Mumbai put themselves in command with a excellent bowling performance. Saurashtra ended the day on 192/8, with debutant Prerak Mankad batting on 55.

Mumbai won the toss and opted to bowl first on a green surface, Mumbai made full use of the conditions on offer and removed eight Saurashtrian wickets on the opening day. Dhawal Kulkarni, who was welcomed back into the side in place of Badre Alam, was the most impressive of the bowlers with figures of four for 30. The right-arm seamer was into his groove from the onset and his consistency in landing the ball at the right place ensured that he not only picked up important wickets but also kept the pressure up at all times and helped the other bowlers reap rewards.

For Saurashtra, Aarpit Vasavada was the rock in the middle – holding firm for the side even as wickets fell around him regularly. It comes as no surprise then that he was involved in two of their most valuable partnerships on a day where not much else went right for them. He and debutant, Prerak Mankad (55) shared a vital 84-run stand for the eighth wicket, while along with captain Jaydev Shah, Vasavada helped add 35. He was out in the final over of the day, edging Dhawal Kulkarni to slip on 77.

The stand with Mankad, who was asked to make his First-Class debut in a Ranji Trophy final, helped Saurashtra recover from a sorry state. They were reeling at 108/7 with more than one full session to go. Mankad, however, displayed grit, composure and ability that suggested he was a better batsman than the ones who normally come out to bat at No. 9.

If Mumbai had managed to break the stand early, they would’ve probably been replying to a total around 150 or lesser. The Ranji giants had put themselves in a dominating position with wickets at regular intervals. They also ensured Saurashtra were not gifted easy scoring opportunities, and the scoring rate of two reflects Mumbai’s discipline with the ball.

Avi Barot (14 off 22 balls) and Sagar Jogiyani (8 off 19) started decently for Saurashtra – hitting Shardul Thakur for two boundaries each. Kulkarni, however, struck soon after and set the ball rolling for the procession of batsmen to follow. Barot clipped a leg-side delivery straight to Shreyas Iyer at square leg. Thakur got into the act in the next over, getting Jogiyani to edge behind.

Much depended on Cheteshwar Pujara (4 off 13) after the early departure of the openers, but the India Test player hardly looked comfortable at the crease. He looked edgy throughout his brief stay at the crease, and finally departed when he edged Kulkarni to 2nd slip.

Sheldon Jackson went into a shell and could not get off the mark. The right-hander played out 26 deliveries and scored 0 runs before getting a thick edge to Akhil Herwadkar off Balwinder Singh Sandhu. When Jaydev Shah (13 off 33), the captain, became Kulkarni’s third victim, Saurashtra had slumped to 77/5 and in danger of being skittled out cheaply.

Saurashtra looked in dismal when Chirag Jani (13 off 50) and Deepak Punia (6 off 11) were dismissed in quick succession. They were 108 for 7 in the 52nd over, and Mumbai looked set to wrap up the innings sooner rather than late.

All this while, Vasavada had stood at the other end and watched helplessly as his list of potential batting partners kept reducing. The perfect batsman came in the unexpected form of debutant Prerak Mankad. The right-hander, 21, was assured in his defense, as he was in his stroke play and he played the spinners and pacers with equal comfort. He brought up a fifty on debut in the final stages of the day. Vasavada, on the other hand, never changed his approach throughout his knock; preferring to rotate strike as often as possible, and falling back on sound defense whenever needed. He was out for 77 off what turned out to be the last ball of the day, leaving the underdogs further disappointed with their opening day display.

Brief score: Saurashtra192 for 8 in 84.4 overs (Aarpit Vasavada 77, PrerakMankad 55*, Dhawal Kulkar 4-30, Shardul Thakur 2-59) vs Mumbai.