Musheer Khan took two important wickets as Haryana ended Day 2 at 108 for two against Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy match on Tuesday. Mumbai had scored 430 runs in their first innings, making the chase difficult for Haryana.
Musheer dismissed Haryana captain Ankit Kumar, who scored 35 runs, and Himanshu Rana, who made 27 runs. Both openers started well and added 61 runs for the first wicket. However, Musheer got both batters out and gave Mumbai two important wickets. Haryana were still 322 runs behind Mumbai’s total at the end of the day.
The left-arm spinner bowled well and made it hard for Haryana’s batters to score runs. He kept bowling in the right areas and tried to get wickets. Musheer took both wickets in the evening session and helped Mumbai stay in a strong position in the match.
Musheer first got Ankit Kumar out LBW. He then made Himanshu Rana hit the ball with the edge of his bat. Sarfaraz Khan, who was standing at first slip, took the catch. This gave Musheer his second wicket of the innings and put more pressure on Haryana.
“I have to play a supporting role to Shams (Mulani) and Tanush (Kotian). I try to bowl in the same areas and stop the flow of runs. I focus on bowling my stock ball as much as possible,” the left-arm spinner told reporters after stumps on day two.
Haryana’s opening pair could have ended earlier if Divyaansh Saxena had caught Rana’s shot in the fifth over. Tushar Deshpande was bowling, and Haryana had scored 17 runs.
At stumps, Dheeru Singh was batting on 23, with Nishant Sindhu on 17 at the other end.
Musheer, who scored 109 runs on Day 1, said he could have scored more runs. “I am happy, but not satisfied. I could have easily scored a 200. This is our home ground and we know how to bat here. You are recognised as a batter in Mumbai cricket only if you convert your starts into hundreds. Fifties aren’t good enough,” he said.
Earlier, Tanush Kotian scored 52 runs without getting out and helped Mumbai reach 430 runs. Mumbai lost many wickets on the second morning, but Kotian kept scoring runs for his team. He faced 96 balls and hit four fours.
Sarfaraz Khan, who started batting on the first day, scored 40 runs off 96 balls and hit six fours. Sindhu got him out LBW. Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad scored 33 runs before Aman Kumar took his wicket. Mumbai had started the day with 290 runs and three wickets lost.
For Haryana, Samant Jakhar took three wickets for 41 runs. He was the best bowler for his team and helped stop Mumbai from scoring more runs.
In Mumbai: Mumbai 430 in 130.3 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 114, Musheer Khan 109, Tanush Kotian 52 not out; Samant Jakhar 3/41) lead Haryana 108/2 in 39 overs (Ankit Kumar 35; Musheer Khan 2/28) by 322 runs.