A week back, Hardik Tamore must have reconciled himself to watching Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final against Uttar Pradesh from the outer. After all, he was in the squad only as understudy to the seasoned Aditya Tare.

Tare’s misfortune on Day Four of Mumbai’s quarter-final against Uttarakhand last Thursday opened the door for Tamore’s unexpected return to first-class cricket. Going for a leg-side catch, Tare broke the middle finger of his right hand and was ruled out of the rest of the campaign, facilitating Tamore’s comeback to the playing XI for the first time in more than two years. Tamore is no stranger to the Ranji Trophy stage. When the tournament was last held in the 2019-20 season, he had played four games as a specialist batsman, stacking up 199 runs including a highest of 113.