By Admin 
Forced to settle for draws, Mumbai stumbled in its last two Ranji Trophy outings after a winning start against Jammu and Kashmir. Coming into the fourth-round fixture against Himachal Pradesh, the domestic powerhouse looked determined to secure an outright win and get its campaign back on track.
At the MCA-BKC ground on Sunday, Mumbai inched closer to getting back to winning ways in a Group D clash as it put Himachal Pradesh on the mat, reducing it to 94 for seven after putting up 446.
As the surface offered some turn, Mumbai off-spinner Himanshu Singh tightened the noose with three quick wickets after fast bowlers Tushar Deshpande and captain Shardul Thakur reduced Himachal to 18 for three at Tea.
Himachal captain Ankush Bains exuded confidence ahead of the game, but none of the Himachal batters could show resilience against Mumbai’s bowling line-up.
While it will be a herculean task for Himachal to avoid the follow-on and come back stronger in the second innings, Mumbai will be hoping to keep the momentum going and grab those crucial six points, and even aim for a bonus.
While the bowlers played their roles to perfection, Shams Mulani (69, 122b, 9×4) brought up his 21st First-Class fifty as Mumbai resumed the day at 289 for five, and went on to add 157 runs to its tally.
Centurion Siddhesh Lad added 27 runs to his overnight score of 100 before falling to left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar (four for 111). But with Mulani and Deshpande once again stepping up, Mumbai managed to flex its muscles.
Lad lauded Mulani, saying: “He is the crisis man of Mumbai. Whenever the team needs him, he steps up.”
“There is a lot of competition in the India-A setup, but he has done everything to deserve a place in the India-A, but the rest is up to the selectors,” he added.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: Ayush Mhatre b Vipin 9, Musheer Khan b Dagar 112, Ajinkya Rahane c Kalsi b Guleria 2, Himanshu Singh b Guleria 0, Sarfaraz Khan lbw b Arora 16, Siddhesh Lad c Kalsi b Dagar 127, Akash Anand b Vaibhav 34, Shams Mulani c Dhaliwal b Dagar 69, Shardul Thakur st Bains b Dhaliwal 1, Tushar Deshpande b Dagar 38, Sylvester D’Souza (not out) 0; Extras: (lb-10, b-26, wd-2): 38; Total (in 137.2 overs): 446.
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-26, 3-35, 4-73, 5-230, 6-305, 7-347, 8-358, 9-433.
Himachal Pradesh bowling: Vaibhav 16-4-57-2, Vipin 17-3-45-1, Guleria 24-3-94-2, Dagar 48.2-8-111-4, Dhaliwal 27-5-81-1, Gangta 5-0-2-0.
Himachal Pradesh — 1st innings: Sidhant Purohit lbw b Shardul 1, Ankush Bains c Akash b Deshpande 1, Ankit Kalsi c Akash b Tushar 8, Pukhraj Mann lbw b Himanshu 34, Ekant Sen lbw b Mulani 15, Nikhil Gangta (batting) 27, Mayank Dagar lbw b Himanshu 5, Aryaman Dhaliwal c Mhatre b Himanshu 3, Vipin Sharma (batting) 0; Extras: 0; Total (for seven wkts. in 37 overs): 94.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-6, 3-18, 4-59, 5-59, 6-65, 7-79.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul 7-2-21-1, Deshpande 6-1-21-2, Sylvester 4-1-14-0, Mulani 11-4-12-1, Himanshu 8-2-26-3, Musheer 1-1-0-0.