Sarfaraz Khan and Akash Anand centuries give Mumbai control against Himachal at Luhnu in Ranji Trophy
Sarfaraz Khan and Akash Anand struck centuries as Mumbai took control of their Ranji Trophy Group D match against Himachal Pradesh at the Luhnu Cricket Ground on Tuesday. The visitors declared on 528 for eight, leaving Himachal 144 for three at stumps on the penultimate day.
Akash Anand, unable to keep due to a finger injury, scored an unbeaten 117 off 239 balls with 14 fours, while Sarfaraz compiled 154 from 228 deliveries with 19 boundaries; the pair shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 210. Mumbai resumed the day on 398 for four but lost momentum after Sarfaraz’s dismissal, dropping four wickets for 59 runs before declaring to secure a lead of 388.
Sarfaraz fell to Jitender Rana, who finished with figures of four for 108. Akash then consolidated at the crease as wickets fell at the other end, carrying his side to a position the report described as “firmly in control.” Mumbai declared after 151 overs with extras totaling 28 (b-23, lb-1, nb-4).
The full Mumbai first-innings scoreboard read: Divyaansh Saxena c Mahajan b Rana 9; Angkrish Raghuvanshi c Dhaliwal b Abhishek 20; Musheer Khan c Mahajan b Rana 57; Siddhesh Lad c Guleria b Abhishek 87; Sarfaraz Khan c sub (Amanpreet) b Rana 154; Akash Anand not out 117; Shams Mulani c Mahajan b Rana 0; Tanush Kotian b Guleria 15; Tushar Deshpande b Nitin 26; Mohit Avasthi not out 15. Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-32, 3-154, 4-222, 5-432, 6-432, 7-457, 8-491.
Himachal, who had been dismissed inside 40 overs in their first innings for 140, showed greater resistance in the second, reaching 144 for three in 56 overs. Innesh Mahajan made 37 before being caught by Sarfaraz off Shams Mulani; Shubham Arora was out to Mohit Avasthi for 16 and Nehal Wadhera fell to Sylvester D’Souza for 11, while Pukhraj Mann was 38 and Vaibhav Kalta 21 at stumps; extras were 21 (b-4, lb-15, wd-2).
Mumbai’s bowlers in the second innings posted these figures: Deshpande 8-2-19-0, Mulani 17-5-37-1, Avasthi 8-1-18-1, D’Souza 8-1-22-1, Kotian 10-6-15-0, Musheer 5-3-14-0. Himachal’s first-innings bowlers returned: Abhishek 27-8-90-2, Nitin 22-3-78-1, Guleria 27-3-96-1, Rana 26-1-108-4, Dhaliwal 37-5-96-0, Mann 1-0-8-0, Vasisht 11-2-28-0.
Vikram Rathour, identified in the report as a former India batter and a consultant with Himachal Pradesh, spent time with the home side after Monday’s play, and the article noted an improved application from Himachal as they battled on the penultimate day. Under a hot sun Mumbai’s bowlers found it difficult to maintain early pressure as Mann and Kalta put together an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 66 to carry their side into the final day.
Mumbai will resume on Wednesday needing seven more wickets to secure a bonus-point victory, while Himachal remain 244 runs behind with seven wickets in hand at the close of play.
