Ranji Trophy: Mumbai begin with a bang, but fielding needs a fix

Mumbai skipper Siddhesh Lad. Pic/Ashish Raje

[popcorn number="Two" desc="No. of times Chandigarh opener Arjun Azad was dropped by Mumbai in their opening Ranji Trophy match on Tuesday; he went on to score 62 in the second innings" class="Default"]

Mumbai began their Ranji Trophy campaign in emphatic fashion, bowling out Chandigarh twice to register an innings-and-155-run victory inside three days in their Elite Group ‘D' opener at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

The bowlers laid the foundation for the comprehensive win, delivering with both bat and ball. Pacer Tushar Deshpande (44, 5-17 and 2-37) was the standout performer, while spinners Tanush Kotian (58, 3-30) and Shams Mulani (39, 3-69), pacer Mohit Avasthi (56 not out, 3-9 and 1-42), and Sylvester D'Souza (2-51 and 1-14) also played key roles.

Mumbai fielders are on alert as a Chandigarh batter plays one towards point on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy match at Wankhede on Monday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Among the specialist batters, opener Ayush Mhatre (48), one-down Musheer Khan (65), and skipper Siddhesh Lad (86) at No. 4 impressed. However, India Test batters Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Sarfaraz Khan (1), who opened and batted at No. 5 respectively, failed to make significant contributions to Mumbai's total of 429.

Mumbai's specialist batters will need to step up in the coming matches, particularly with both Jaiswal and Mhatre set to miss the next fixture against Himachal Pradesh in Bilaspur, beginning on October 18. Jaiswal will be away on India ‘A' duty, while Mhatre has suffered a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out for at least a month.

Fielding is another area Mumbai need to improve. Chandigarh opener Arjun Azad, who scored 62, was fortunate to survive two dropped catches - on 24 and 53. Musheer Khan first put him down at point off pacer D'Souza, before Sarfaraz Khan dropped him at slip off spinner Mulani. Shivam Bhambri, who scored 44, also got a reprieve on 19 when Lad spilled a catch at mid-on off D'Souza.

Mumbai's fielding woes were also evident last season, when their Ranji Trophy campaign ended in the quarter-finals against Karnataka. Opener KL Rahul made the most of three reprieves to score a match-winning century. After the defeat, then Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur admitted that poor fielding at crucial moments had hurt the team.

"We have dropped the most number of catches this season [2025-26]. That's an unwanted record for us. Fielding is one area where we need to pull up our socks and improve," Thakur had said.

Fortunately for Mumbai, current skipper Lad appears keen to address the issue early in the campaign. Speaking to mid-day after Tuesday's win, Lad admitted that the team was working hard to improve its fielding standards. "We are working hard on our fielding, but catches are dropping [and] it's part of the game. But we are still trying… we'll keep working hard and hopefully we'll improve day by day," Lad said.