After being dropped on seven, Baroda opener slams 138 as visitors take upper hand at Wankhede
Mumbai's famed khadoos attitude took a severe beating in their landmark 500th Ranji Trophy game as Baroda, for the second consecutive day, dominated the proceedings of their Group C encounter at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday.
After bowling out Mumbai for just 171 on the first day, Baroda made most of Mumbai's butter-finger fielders by posting 376 for four at stumps on Day Two, taking a 205-run lead.
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Baroda opening batsman Aditya Waghmode's sweep shot forces a Mumbai fielder to take evasive action at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pics/Suresh Karkera
Except for opener Noor Ahmed Pathan (14), all the other Baroda batsmen made life difficult for the seven bowlers deployed by Mumbai.
Opener Aditya Waghmode was the toughest batsman of the lot that Mumbai found difficult to get rid of. Waghmode, who was dropped on seven on Day One, went on to smash a 309-ball 138 as the southpaw dug deep with over eight hours at the crease.
Waghmode was involved in building three vital partnerships to ensure Baroda's smooth sailing.
He first stitched an 85-run stand with Vishnu Solanki (54) for the second wicket and then played a leading role in two 100-plus runs partnerships -- a 140-run stand with skipper Deepak Hooda (75) for the third wicket and a 105-run stand with Swapnil Singh (unbeaten on 63) for the fourth wicket.
"I thought it would be special if I play a big innings in Mumbai's 500th match and that too at the Wankhede Stadium. This is my best among all my six hundreds. I want to dedicate this ton to my wife Roma, said Waghmode, who turned 28 on Wednesday. Mumbai's bowlers managed to claim only one wicket each in all three sessions yesterday.
In the first session, pacer Shardul Thakur succeeded in Vishnu Solanki nicking one to first slip fielder Suryakumar Yadav in the 38th over.
Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil needed 16 overs and 77 runs for his first victim when Hooda was caught by Dhawal Kulkarni at midwicket in the second session of the day's play. And the last success came after tea when part-timer Shreyas Iyer dismissed Waghmode, who was caught at slip by Ajinkya Rahane. The wicket would have given Iyer some solace after dropping Waghmode on the first day.
Aditya Waghmode
Mumbai, however, had to cope with an injury to left-arm pacer Royston Dias, who returned back to the dressing room after bowling just five balls yesterday. Dias pulled his thigh muscle and it is learnt that the bowler would be out of action for at least a fortnight.
Resuming their innings at 63 for one, Baroda went past Mumbai's total in Gohil's over after Hooda dispatched him over the long off fence.
Hooda showed no mercy on Gohil as he hit him five times over the fence during the skipper's 113-ball stay at the crease.
However, Hooda was lucky after Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare dropped his opposite number on 38 in the last over before lunch.
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