The first day of the 2024 Ranji Trophy final saw several ebbs and flows as Mumbai's middle-order squandered a great opportunity to consolidate the team's position. After openers Prithvi Shaw (46) and Bhupen Lalwani (37) gave a decent start to Mumbai by stitching an 81-run alliance, the team's middle order led by experienced campaigners like captain Ajinkya Rahane (7) and Shreyas Iyer (7) failed to make any impact. As a result of losing six wickets in a span of just 30 runs, Mumbai found themselves tottering at 111/6.
Legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar reacted to Mumbai batters' flop show on Day 1 and said that they played ordinary cricket. Sachin also lauded Vidarbha bowlers for digging the team out of a precarious situation and putting Mumbai under pressure.
"After a good start, the @MumbaiCricAssoc batters played some ordinary cricket," Sachin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"On the other hand, Vidarbha have kept things simple and put Mumbai under pressure. I am sure there will be many exciting sessions in this game as the match unfolds. The wicket has grass cover, but the ball will turn and assist spinners as the game progresses.
"Vidarbha will be happy with the way they got back in the game after a solid partnership by the Mumbai openers. The first session belonged to Vidarbha," he added.
Shardul Thakur becomes Mumbai's messiah again
After Mumbai found themselves reeling at 111/6, the team desperately needed strong resistance from the lower order to ensure they didn't fall too far back in the eight ball. Shardul Thakur once again came to Mumbai's rescue and his counter-attacking knock helped the team cross the 200-run mark.
Shardul registered small partnerships with the lower order and took the team's total from 111/6 to 224 all out. Shardul was dismissed after scoring 75 runs off 69 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes.
For Vidarbha, Harsh Dubey and Yash Thakur bagged three wickets each while Umesh Yadav chipped in with two wickets, including those of Iyer and Shardul. Aditya Thakare chipped in with a wicket.
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