When magnificence is present

<p>On the third day of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy final versus Vidarbha, young Musheer Khan maintained his meteoric rise with a magnificent 136, putting the team on the verge of victory. Shreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane also made big contributions today.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-504039″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/theindiaprint.com-when-magnificence-is-present-2024-3largeimg-1428436069-750×459.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com when magnificence is present 2024 3largeimg 1428436069″ width=”991″ height=”608″ title=”When magnificence is present 6″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/theindiaprint.com-when-magnificence-is-present-2024-3largeimg-1428436069-750×459.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/theindiaprint.com-when-magnificence-is-present-2024-3largeimg-1428436069-768×470.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/theindiaprint.com-when-magnificence-is-present-2024-3largeimg-1428436069.jpg 788w” sizes=”(max-width: 991px) 100vw, 991px” /></p>
<p>After setting an unlikely 538 runs against a beaten Vidarbha, who were without their most effective spinner Aditya Sarwate for the whole of the day, Mumbai had one hand on their 42nd trophy at stumps.</p>
<p>Mumbai scored 418 runs in their second innings on the third day, demonstrating that although they had been cautious in the second innings, they were now determined to increase their advantage with a clear strategy and execution.</p>
<p>With two days remaining in the match, Vidarbha was 10/0 in their second innings, openers Dhruv Shorey and Atharva Taide unbeaten. They now needed 528 runs to win.</p>
<p>Mumbai’s batsmen understood that even though they were winning the game handily, there was still plenty of time remaining and that things might turn bad very soon.</p>
<p>Mumbai thus focused on batting for lengthy stretches of time and, in doing so, trying to put the game as far away from the opposition as possible on that particular day.</p>
<p>When play resumed at 58, Rahane got off to a good start with a four but lost the match to left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey (5/144) for the second time. After Dubey got an outside edge off the Mumbai captain’s bat, Rahane was caught behind for 73 from 143 balls with five fours and a six. His opponent Akshay Wadkar gathered the ball safely behind the wickets.</p>
<p>Iyer and skipper Rahane took full use of the chance. Iyer started off by hitting a six over the head of Vidarbha bowler Aditya Thakare. He proceeded to knock 95 off 111 balls, including 10 fours and three sixes.</p>
<p>Musheer too seemed busier than before, with Iyer speeding up from the opposite end. The 19-year-old maintained his cautious approach while being accurate in identifying holes to easily score singles and doubles.</p>
<p>Musheer once again showed that he was the anchor of Mumbai’s batting order with his 474-minute middle-over stint helping the team win, after smashing 203 not out and 55 in the tournament’s final matches this year.</p>
<p>Brief scores: Vidarbha: 105 & 10/0 in 2 overs (Taide 3*, Shorey 7*) vs. Mumbai: 224 & 418 in 130.2 overs (Musheer 136, Iyer 95, Rahane 73; Harsh 5/144, Yash 3/79).</p>