Suryakumar's half ton not enough as Mumbai end Day 2 on 171-4; TN claw back to wrest control
Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav. Pic/Bipin TANKARIA
Rajkot: Suryakumar Yadav's 73 gave Mumbai an edge over Tamil Nadu. However, his dismissal after the tea break had the defending champs in trouble which was a major turning point of the day.
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Mumbai lost three quick wickets in the space of just two overs to end Day Two on 171 for four in the Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here in Khandheri yesterday.
After losing Prithvi Shaw early and in the absence of one-drop batsman Shreyas Iyer, who was suffering from food poisoning, Yadav took responsibility and batted in Iyer's position.
Surya shows class
Yadav not only provided support to opener Praful Waghela, but also showed his class with some superb straight, on and off drives. His innings off 116 balls was laced with 11 boundaries and a six. However, he took 17 deliveries to get past his 44. He reached his 50 in 69 balls with a gentle push towards deep point off K Vignesh's full length delivery. He appeared determined for a big knock as he hardly celebrated his half-century.
After tea, the TN bowlers helped their team claw back into the game. All-rounder Vijay Shankar succeeded in getting an edge off Yadav's bat and 'keeper Dinesh Karthik made no mistake to take an easy catch. Yadav's dismissal signaled the end of his 121-run stand for the second wicket with Waghela.
"I was not expressing myself well in terms of strokeplay for the last two games so I played my normal strokes. I played some specific shots to maintain the run-rate. In a knock out game, you have to score quick runs to keep the opposition under pressure," Yadav said. In the next over, Waghela (48) departed through a suicidal run out involving skipper Aditya Tare.
Tare, Iyer rescue Mumbai
Mumbai lost another wicket in the same over when Siddhesh Lad (0) hit one in the air only to find Mukund at short cover. But after Lad's departure at 128-4, Tare (19 not out) and fit-again Iyer (24 not out) steadied the Mumbai ship to end the day on 171-4.
Earlier, Mumbai's Shardul Thakur and Abhishek Nayar claimed four wickets each to bundle out TN for 305. Vijay Shankar, who contributed a useful 49, said: "I was really disappointed with the way I got out. It was a poor shot. And this being a semi-final, I had to take the team through."
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