Coach Samant slams Mumbai batsmen's attitude after 9-wkt loss to Gujarat
Dejected Mumbai players leave the field after the crushing loss to Gujarat at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Pics/Prakash Parsekar
Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant came down heavily on the Mumbai players' attitude after their crushing nine-wicket defeat against Gujarat at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Gujarat is now the only state to beat 41-time Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai outright on four occasions, according to a tweet from renowned statistician Mohandas Menon. This is also Gujarat's third consecutive victory over Mumbai, out of which, two were outright.
The win helped Gujarat take the top spot in the Elite Group A and B, while Mumbai slipped to 14th position. Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant described Mumbai's batting effort as 'horrible'. "We were horrible in our batting. In both innings, we did not get an opening stand. No. 3 batsman also struggled. You have to take the initiative and tell yourself that I will do it for my team.
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You need that kind of attitude from the players. You have to play according to the situation," Samant said. Mumbai bowlers struggled to find ways to dismiss Gujarat skipper Priyank Panchal, who slammed a fluent unbeaten 112 while chasing the 204-run target in the last session of the final day. Mumbai took a slender first innings lead of 16 runs after Gujarat were bowled out for 281 in reply to Mumbai's 297.
Gujarat skipper Priyank Panchal celebrates his century
The hosts then slumped to 187 in the second dig after adding just 31 runs to their overnight score on Saturday. Gujarat openers Panchal and Kathan Patel (55) batted fluently, stitching a 128-run opening stand. Despite Patel getting out while chasing an away going delivery, Panchal continued to bat with positive intent, hitting 11 fours and three sixes during his 109-ball knock.
Half an hour after the tea break, Bhargav Merai (34 not out) cut one through for a boundary off left-arm spinner Dhrumil Matkar to complete their chase. Samant said his batsmen need to change their mindset. "I am working on their technique and at this stage it is not easy to work on.
They have to change their mindset. In between matches and tournaments, you can't change technique. Jay Bista is using a lot of bottom hand and (Akhil) Herwadkar often gets out in the slips," the coach noted. Panchal credited his team's achievement to Gujarat stalwart and India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel's mentoring. "It's a very big thing for us to beat Mumbai at the Wankhede. We had decided to play positively. Parthivbhai plays a very important role in building this team. He had taught us to be streetmart," said Panchal.
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