Mumbai Indians were bowled out on just 224 in their first innings on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy 2024 final against Vidarbha on Sunday. The in-form Shardul Thakur scored another crucial knock and also made an impact with a ball to balance the game on Day 1.
Chasing their 42nd domestic title, Ajinkya Rahane-led side boosted with international stars struggled against Vidarbha bowlers. Prithvi Shaw smashed quick 46 runs but the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane and Musheer Khan failed to contribute.
But Shardul, who scored his maiden first-class hundred in the semifinal against Tamil Nadu, scored 75 off just 69 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes to charge Mumbai past 200. Yash Thakur and young spinner Harsh Dubey took three wickets each for Vidarbha side.
After impressing with a bat, Shardul also made an impact with a ball by dismissing opener Dhruv Shorey in the third over. Then the veteran medium-pacer Dhawal Kulkarni picked two big wickets of Karun Nair and Aman Mokhade to stumble Vidarbha to 31/3 in 13 overs at the end of Day 1's play at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, batting at No. 5, managed to score just seven runs today. The star batter has been under scanner after getting excluded from the BCCI's annual central contract list. Iyer also registered a single-digit score in the semifinal fixture as pressure mounts on him to prove himself in domestic cricket.
Mumbai Playing XI: Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Dhawal Kulkarni, Tushar Deshpande
Vidarbha Playing XI: Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Aman Mokhade, Karun Nair, Yash Rathod, Akshay Wadkar (c & wk), Aditya Sarwate, Umesh Yadav, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Aditya Thakare
