Mumbai, Feb 23: Mumbai have beaten Gujarat in their second Inter State One-day match by eight runs here at the Wankhede Stadium today. After stumbling to a score of 62 for five, Mumbai were rescued by a spirited century from Wasim Jaffer (104), which helped the side post a competitive 233, after which the hosts restricted their opponents to 225 in a pulsating encounter.
Chasing 233, Avi Barot (57 off 88) and Priyank Panchal (76 off 115) got Gujarat off to a good start with a 127-run opening stand. Barot’s well-paced innings was ended by Iqbal Abdulla in the 32nd over. In his next over, the left-arm spinner bowled Gujarat skipper Niraj Patel (6). A little while later, Asad Pathan (3) was sent back by Ankeet Chavan while Panchal fell in the 37th over when he was caught by Ajinkya Rahane off Ajit Agarkar.
Manprit Juneja (5) was the next man to depart off Ajit Agarkar’s bowling when he handed a catch to Wasim Jaffer thereby leaving the visitors wobbling at 155 for five.
With the match inching to a close finish, Abhishek Nayar took a superb catch off Abdulla’s last over to dismiss Akshar Patel (26) and in the following over Agarkar castled Bhavik Thaker (2) to keep Mumbai’s chances in the game alive. Jaffer then took a brilliant catch diving to his right to get rid of Mehul Patel (1), who attempted to flick pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, to give Mumbai their eighth scalp. However, the pen-ultimate over added more drama as it ultimately finished as an eight-ball over that saw Mumbai concede 13 runs. And since Agarkar, who bowled the 49th over, bowled two no-balls above waist height, Surya Kumar Yadav had to be brought in to bowl the eighth ball.
Then, with 14 runs required off the last over, a direct hit by Nayar from mid-off saw No. 10 batsman Amit Singh (4) run-out off the first ball of the over. Kshemal Waingankar, who bowled the last over for Mumbai, then conceded only five runs off the remaining few balls to give the hosts a thrilling victory.
Earlier, put in to bat, Mumbai lost their top-order batsmen in quick succession with the exception of Wasim Jaffer, who anchored the innings with a well-compiled 104.
Ajinkya Rahane (8) was the first to be sent back by Ishwar Chaudhary followed by Sushant Marathe (5). The hosts then lost the key wicket of Abhishek Nayar (0), trapped lbw by Chaudhary. Surya Kumar Yadav (11), who replaced Nayar, struck a couple of crisp boundaries, before being caught at mid-on. Mehul Patel, who had claimed Yadav, then trapped Anup Revandkar (6) lbw, leaving Mumbai struggling at 62 for five in the 17th over.
With half the side back in the dressing room, skipper Ajit Agarkar joined Jaffer at the crease and the duo added 35 runs before the Mumbai skipper was stumped for 19 (off 42 balls) off Mohnish Parmar. Parmar then dismissed Ankeet Chavan (7) in his next over to leave Mumbai reeling at 111 for seven.
However, the veteran Jaffer, who had come in at No 3, stitched valuable partnerships with the lower-order to take Mumbai to a respectable total. Jaffer found an able ally in Iqbal Abdulla (34) to add 69 runs for the eighth wicket. After Iqbal’s departure, Dhawal Kulkarni (23* off 17) and Jaffer added another 40 runs to the total. However, the senior batsman was run-out trying to sneak a single off the first ball of the last over, but not before he had helped himself to the three-figure mark. Kulkarni and Kshemal Waingankar (5*) then added 13 runs to take Mumbai to a competitive score of 233.
Mumbai will now take on Saurashtra on Saturday in their quest for the West Zone Ramakant Desai Trophy.
Brief scores: Mumbai 233/9 in 50 overs (W Jaffer 104, I Abdulla 34, D Kulkarni 23*, I Chaudhary 3/53, Mehul Patel 2/22) beat Gujarat 225/9 in 50 overs (P Panchal 76, A Barot 57, I Abdulla 3/35, A Agarkar 3/43) by eight runs
