By Admin 
Musheer Khan had a forgettable outing with the willow, but the youngster made up for it with the ball and provided Mumbai with crucial breakthroughs as the domestic giant gained an upper hand over Chhattisgarh in its Ranji Trophy Elite Group-D match at the MCA-BKC ground here on Monday.
After Mumbai added 10 runs to its overnight tally and folded up for 416, Chhattisgarh rode on Ayush Pandey (50, 89b, 7×4) and Shashank Chandrakar’s (43, 112b, 5×4, 1×6) 85-run opening stand to frustrate the fast bowlers.
However, things changed suddenly with left-arm spinner Himanshu Singh breaking the partnership as Angkrish Raghuvanshi claimed a sharp catch at silly point to remove Ayush. Himanshu, coming in for Tanush Kotian, added one more to his wicket tally by dismissing Chandrakar.
With the surface offering substantial turn, Musheer was brought into the attack to tighten the noose and he struck just before tea. Chhattisgarh lost quick wickets to end another rain-affected day at 175 for six, trailing by 241 runs.
As the day progressed and the batters found it difficult to tackle the spinners, Musheer trapped Sanjeet Desai leg before, and shortly after tea, removed captain Amandeep Khare. As Ajinkya Rahane grabbed a low diving catch at slips, Khare raised concerns, but the umpires ruled in favour of the fielding side.
Musheer’s second spell proved to be the turning point as he managed to outwit the Chhattisgarh batters, before the seasoned Shams Mulani returned to action with two quick strikes.
As wickets tumbled, hopes rested on Shashank Singh. But the IPL star was far from impressive as he struggled against spin throughout. He, however, survived as Tushar Deshpande couldn’t hold on to a catch at long-off.
With overnight rain leading to a wet outfield, it was a delayed start, and with further interruptions, only 64 overs could be bowled. Before the Mumbai spinners took charge, Aditya Sarwate completed his five-wicket haul.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: Angkrish Raghuvanshi lbw b Ravi Kiran 9, Musheer Khan c & b Sarwate 12, Ajinkya Rahane c Chandrakar b Sarwate 159, Himanshu Singh lbw b Ravi Kiran 0, Siddhesh Lad c Ashutosh b Mandal 80, Sarfaraz Khan c Shashank b Sarvate 1, Shams Mulani c Bareth b Ravi Kiran 39, Akash Anand c Desai b Mandal 61, Shardul Thakur c Mandal b Sarwate 29, Tushar Deshpande c Mandal b Sarwate 9, Irfan Umair (not out) 4; Extras: (b-8, lb-2, nb-3): 13; Total (in 133.3 overs): 416.
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-36, 3-38, 4-203, 5-204, 6-281, 7-351, 8-399, 9-412.
Chhattisgarh bowling: Ravi Kiran 19-5-53-3, Majumdar 18-2-60-0, Sarwate 41.3-10-103-5, Bareth 12-0-64-0, Mandal 38-5-102-2, Shashank 4-0-18-0, Ashutosh 1-0-6-0.
Chhattisgarh — 1st innings: Ayush Pandey c Raghuvanshi b Himanshu 50, Shashank Chandrakar c Sarfaraz b Himanshu 43, Ashutosh Singh c Raghuvanshi b Mulani 34, Sanjeet Desai lbw b Musheer 15, Amandeep Khare c Rahane b Musheer 1, Shashank Singh (batting) 20, Ajay Mandal c Raghuvanshi b Mulani 0, Aditya Sarwate (batting) 3; Extras: (lb-7, nb-2): 9; Total (for six wkts. in 60.3 overs): 175.
Fall of wickets: 1-85, 2-114, 3-149, 4-151, 5-163, 6-167.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul 3-0-24-0, Deshpande 5-0-28-0, Mulani 19-5-41-2, Himanshu 14-2-33-2, Irfan 6-2-13-0, Musheer 13.3-1-29-2.