Rohit, Hiken pile tons of trouble

If Mumbai's primary objective on winning the toss was to get enough runs on the board to give their injury-ravaged bowling unit a measure of insurance, they did their brief justice. Unbeaten centuries by Hiken Shah (154 batting) and skipper Rohit Sharma (102 batting) took the side to 325 for two against Hyderabad, who once more face the prospect of playing for the solitary point despite the game being just a day old.

Mumbai were aided in their accumulation by a track that was flat, bowling that was blunt and field placing that was defensive. Left arm pacer Mohammed Khader struck in the fourth over, trapping Kaustabh Pawar in front for one and for the remaining 86 overs of the day, the bowlers would find no success. Hiken Shah, coming off a century in the previous game and 92 against England in the practice match, added 121 for the first wicket with opener and 'keeper Aditya Tare, who fell right after lunch.

Left arm spinner Lalith Babu had two shouts for leg before turned down in the first over after lunch and Tare attempted to relieve the pressure with a slog to the leg side. The contact being imperfect, the ball trickled towards mid on but Tare had already galloped down the track for a single. Ravi Kiran picked the ball up and threw the stumps down to catch Tare short, and after that it was pure toil for Hyderabad.

When Rohit Sharma joined Shah right after the lunch interval, Hyderabad could have knuckled down for the grind, but instead, the home side stepped back to allow Mumbai reclaim the initiative. Akshath Reddy, Hyderabad's third captain of the season, set left handed Shah a five-four field and asked his medium pacers to plug away on a middle and leg line.

... contd.

ALSO READ

To clear dues, Shahi Imam seeks Jama Masjid title transfer

Lottery system for admission not feasible, DU tells SRCC

Binge Buying

Quick and Easy