BENGALURU: Hardik Tamore wasn’t short of preparation this season. An opportunity in the highly competitive Mumbai senior team was what he was waiting for.
An injury to wicketkeeper Aditya Tare opened the doors for the 24-year-old. The Mumbai U-25 captain made the optimum use of the break, compiling a patient 233-ball 115 (12x4; 1x6) against Uttar Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy semifinal on Wednesday.
On a day when an entire session was lost due to overnight rain at the Just Cricket ground, Mumbai held sway. After being dismissed for 393 in their first essay, Mumbai pegged back UP with two wickets within the first four overs. Karan Sharma’s men were 25/2 in 12 overs at the end of day’s play.
Earlier, Tamore, who came out to bat at his overnight score of 51, and Shams Mulani (50, 130b, 5x4) were a picture of patience and persistence as they frustrated the opposition during their crucial 113-run association.
Soon after Mulani brought up his half-century, a reverse sweep off Karan fetched Tamore a couple and his second first-class century.
A handy off-spinner, UP skipper Karan (4/46), who in this competition has showcased his ability to lead from the front, did it again when he broke the partnership. Mulani handed a catch to Kaushik Madhav at forward short-leg to head back.
Tanush Kotian (22) struck a few boundaries and stepped on the pedal but was sent back by Saurabh Kumar (3/107). Thereafter Mumbai’s lower order folded up without much resistance.
Having restricted Mumbai to under 400, UP would have been satisfied but for the early jolts. Samarth Singh chased a ball pitched outside the off-stump by Dhawal Kulkarni and offered a thick edge to Tamore in the first over. Three overs later, Priyam Garg was beaten by the seam and Tushar Deshpande’s delivery disturbed the timber to leave UP reeling at 4/2. Madhav Kaushik and Karan managed to keep the Mumbai attack at bay until the end of the extended final session.
TIWARY, SHAHBAZ BAIL OUT BENGAL
Having two lost two wickets for no score in the opening over, Bengal had their backs to the wall. Losing the third in the fifth over only compounded their woes. But, Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed pulled off a great escape with their unbroken 143-run association for the sixth wicket.
After a delayed start due to a wet outfield at the KSCA Alur ground, Bengal bowled out Madhya Pradesh for 341 in 105.3 overs. MP decided to open with spinners — the left and right-hand spin combination of Kumar Kartikeya (2/43) and Saransh Jain (1/58) sharing the new-ball duties.
Abhishek Raman and Sudip Gharami lost their stumps to Kartikeya in the first over. By the 16th over, Bengal were reduced to 54/5 before Tiwary and Ahmed decided to grind it out. MP were 197/5 in 66 overs.
SCOREBOARD
Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh (I innings O/N: 271/6): 341 allout in 105.3 overs (Puneet Datey 33; Mukesh Kumar 4-66, Akash Deep 2-73, Shahbaz Ahmed 3-86) vs Bengal (I innings:
