Wickets from Shardul Thakur and Shams Mulani, and contributions from Shreyas Iyer and Shubham Ranjane with the bat helped stitch a victory.
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Following up on his blitz against Chhattisgarh, Suryakumar Yadav scored another punchy half-century and guided Mumbai to their first Vijay Hazare Trophy victory of the season in the Elite Group A match against Saurashtra at the Alur cricket stadium III in Bengaluru on Monday.
Put in to bat first, Saurashtra scored 245/9 in 50 overs as Shardul Thakur and Shams Mulani picked up three wickets each. Thakur, an Eagle Thane Strikers pick in Season 2 of T20 Mumbai, was more effective against the tail but was tight throughout his spell as his figures of 3/36 in his quota of 10 overs alluded.
Mulani, who represented Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburbs earlier this year, was more incisive on the day as he scalped key wickets from the top order, including top-scorer Arpit Vasavada, and the well-settled Sheldon Jackson and Samarth Vyas who both fell in the 17th over, finishing with 3/49 in his 10.
Mumbai stuttered in their chase as they found themselves rattled at 3/2 in just the second over. However, it was here where the recovery began with a 104-run stand between Aditya Tare (29) and captain Shreyas Iyer.
At 104/2 at the end of 21 overs, it looked like Mumbai would be on course for a comfortable victory but Tare's departure was followed by Iyer's two overs later for 73 (82 balls, 8x4, 2x6) - the skipper's second successive List A fifty - and by the 30th over, they were 133/5.
With 20 overs remaining and another 113 needed at 5.65 per over, Mumbai had it all to do. It's here that Yadav stepped up as he partnered Shubham Ranjane for an unbeaten 115-run partnership in just 108 balls with their side sealing the match with five wickets and two overs to spare.
"I was feeling a bit helpless on how to finish the match," Yadav said. "But Shubham came in and said that we should both finish it off and not leave it to anyone else. That was nice of Shubham and it gave me confidence.
"I told him to wait as they were using up their main bowlers early to try and put pressure on us. But we knew once we got past them, we could attack the part-timers later. And that's what we did.
"I have been playing for Mumbai for so long, it's high time that I give it back by winning more games for the team," Yadav said.
The 29-year-old Yadav, captain of Triumph Knights Mumbai North East in T20 Mumbai, was at his blazing best as he scored 85 not out in just 71 balls at a strike rate of 119.71 with the help of 9 fours and 3 sixes. Ranjane played the supporting act with 45* in 57 balls with 4 boundaries and a maximum.
“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs#VijayHazareTrophy #MUMvSCA #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/qSqs0BvPJt
— Shubham Ranjane (@ssranjane7) October 4, 2019
"(Yadav) knows he has the added responsibility. And he has been been batting superbly," Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant observed. "He told Shubham to take it easy, that even if two maidens were played out, he would make up for it later."
