Mumbai made a stunning comeback after an early collapse against Rest of India on Day 1 of the Irani Cup 2024 fixture in Lucknow on Tuesday. Captain Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant unbeaten fifty to lead Mumbai to an impressive total of 237 for 4 in 68 overs as bad light forced a delayed start and early stumps.
After being invited to bat first by Rest of India captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mumbai struggled for a positive start at Ekana Cricket Stadium. The experienced pace Mukesh Kumar, who was dropped from India's Test squad against Bangladesh, proved his worth with three early wickets and gave Rest of India a brilliant start to the five-day First-Class match.
Mukesh dismisses Prithvi Shaw on just four runs with Devdutt Padikkal taking a stunning diving catch in the slip. The right-arm pacer then removed wicketkeeper batter Hardik Tamore on a duck in the same over to further stun Mumbai.
Debutant Ayush Mhatre started well with 19 runs off 35 balls to keep some runs on the scoreboard but Mukesh denied him a big innings to stumble Mumbai to 37 for 3. Rahane then joined by Shreyas Iyer in the middle the duo steadied Mumbai's innings with a sensible cricket.
Rahane and Iyer added 102 runs for the fourth with both scoring a fifties each. The duo were defensive in their initial approach but were able to put some quick runs on the scoreboard after adapting to Lucknow's green surface.
Yash Dayal gave Rest of India a breakthrough with Iyer's wicket who scored 57 runs off 84 balls. But Mumbai kept the momentum by their side with Rahane and the next batter Sarfaraz Khan adding an unbeaten 98 runs for the fourth wicket.
Bad light restricted the Day 1's play for only 68 overs as Mumbai posted a total of 237 for 4. Rahane scored 86* off 197 balls with the help of six fours and one six while Sarfaraz added an unbeaten 54 off 88 balls. Mukesh Kumar bagged the highest three wickets for 60 for Rest of India.
Rest of India Playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna.
Mumbai Playing XI: Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Hardik Tamore (WK), Ajinkya Rahane (C), Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohammad Juned Khan, Mohit Avasthi.
