Arelentless Mumbai pulled off a thrilling 106-run win over a fighting Railways side in the Ranji Trophy Group D match here on Thursday.
It was Mumbai’s fourth straight outright win of the season. With this win, the 42-time champions have now taken their points tally to 27.
For a long time on the final day, it looked like Railways would save the match. But Mumbai’s brilliant fielding in the last one hour changed the whole game.
Railways Fight Back With Two Centuries
The day started with Mumbai adding 60 more runs to their lead. They set a big target of 372 runs for Railways.
Overnight batter Divyaansh Saxena remained not out on 100 off 136 balls. His innings had eight fours and a six.
Railways started badly in their second innings. Shams Mulani took three wickets quickly. A run-out by Sarfaraz Khan also helped Mumbai. At one stage, Railways were struggling at 83 for 5.
But then came the big fightback. Openers Eshaan Goyal and No. 7 batter Zubair Ali joined hands in the middle.
Both batters scored centuries. Goyal made 103 runs, while Zubair Ali made 115 runs. They added 167 runs for the sixth wicket.
The pair kept Mumbai at bay for 156 minutes. They faced 212 balls together and almost took the game away from Mumbai.
Sarfaraz Khan’s Magic Moment Changes Everything
Just when Railways looked safe, Mumbai produced a moment of magic.
Goyal tried to sweep Musheer Khan. He got a top edge. Sarfaraz Khan, who had dropped a catch earlier, showed superb anticipation. He ran from first slip to leg slip and took a stunning diving catch to break the 167-run stand.
Sarfaraz celebrated with a big throw of his arm. His celebration was so wild that even the physio had to come out onto the field.
Soon after, India all-rounder Suryansh Shedge ran several yards to his left from mid-off to dismiss Ali off Musheer. Once Ali was gone, Mumbai were all over Railways.
Tanush Kotian then took a one-handed blinder at short midwicket for the eighth wicket. After that, Railways folded quickly for 265.
All of this happened in a frenetic final hour of play after the drinks break.
Captain Lad Remembers Old Irani Cup Heartbreak
Mumbai captain Siddesh Lad admitted that the thoughts of a draw were on the back of their mind.
“That (a draw) was always on the back of mind, because we had won the first innings and we have bad memories of CCI; we had lost the Irani Trophy on the last day of the match,” Lad told reporters.
Mumbai had lost to Rest of India by four wickets on the final day in the Irani Cup match in 2016-17 at the Brabourne Stadium.
Lad said his team does not want to sit on laurels after collecting maximum points.
“Last two seasons (also), we did really well in the league stage. But we don’t want to be satisfied with what we have done in the first four games. We have a long journey ahead and we want to do something special — add something to the legacy of Mumbai this season,” he said.