Mumbai lands a knockout blow on Goa

Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani continued to sizzle with the bat and the ball as the duo starred in Mumbai’s remarkable comeback win against Goa in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D.

Starting the last day with a lead of 158 runs and three wickets to spare, Kotian (98, 163b, 8×4, 1×6) — with Mohit Avasthi’s vital support — stretched Mumbai’s lead beyond Goa’s reach at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Mumbai declared its second essay at 395 for nine, leaving Goa a target of 232 runs in 62 overs.

The spin duo of Mulani (5/60) and Kotian (3/29) — whose 116-run association for the eighth wicket put Mumbai in command — then ran through the inexperienced Goa line-up. Despite being frustrated by the last pair of Amulya Pandrekar and Amit Yadav, Mumbai wrapped up the game in the first over of the last hour. Kotian, the star of the day, fittingly ended the game, with Amit Yadav being caught by Sachin Yadav at forward short-leg.

Spelling doom

When Mumbai declared after adding 73 runs in 26 overs, Goa openers Sumiran Amonkar and Amogh Desai saw off the awkward four overs heading into lunch. However, the afternoon session saw Mumbai spelling doom for Goa’s batters, picking up eight wickets for 62 runs.

With the red soil offering consistent turn and bounce, Mulani used the hard ball to his advantage. Veteran Dhawal Kulkarni, who bowled a spirited spell, started the downfall with Amonkar being adjudged lbw in the fourth over after lunch.

Mulani then drew Suyash Prabhudessai out of his crease to see Aditya Tare complete a clean stumping off a ball that turned away. The left-arm spinner was rewarded again in his next over, with Sachin pulling off a stunning catch at silly point to dismiss Amogh Desai.

Relentless

Then on, the Goa middle-order crumbled under Mumbai’s relentless bowling and pressure tactics in the field. Minutes after tea, when Mulani trapped Lakshay Garg with an arm-ball, at 80 for nine, the writing was on the wall. However, just like last week against Saurashtra, the last pair hung around, frustrating Mumbai heading into the last hour.

The moment Amit lobbed one to Sachin off Kotian, it led to jubilation on the field for Mumbai and relief on the bench for the support staff.

The scores:

MUMBAI — 1st innings: 163

GOA — 1st innings: 327

MUMBAI — 2nd innings: Prithvi Shaw lbw b Misal 44, Aakarshit Gomel c Misal b Wagh 15, Dhawal Kulkarni b Amit 3, Sachin Yadav c Kerkar b Ranjane 19, Ajinkya Rahane c Ranjane b Amit 56, Sarfaraz Khan lbw b Misal 48, Aditya Tare c Kauthankar b Misal 8, Shams Mulani c Desai b Garg 50, Tanush Kotian c Desai b Pandrekar 98, Mohit Avasthi (not out) 26, Prashant Solanki (not out) 4; Extras (b-12, lb-9, nb-2, w-1): 24; Total (for 9 wkts. decl., 132 overs): 395.

Fall of wickets: 1-54, 2-59, 3-87, 4-93, 5-175, 6-198, 7-208, 8-324, 9-384.

Goa bowling: Garg 16-5-44-0, Amit Yadav 43-5-130-2, Misal 36-7-102-3, Pandrekar 19-0-53-1, Wagh 9-0-22-1, Ranjane 9-1-23-1.

Goa — 2nd innings: Sumiran Amonkar lbw b Kulkarni 4, Amogh Desai c Sachin b Mulani 10, Suyash Prabhudessai st Tare b Mulani 1, Snehal Kauthankar lbw b Kulkarni 4, Darshan Misal lbw b Kotian 14, Shubham Ranjane b Mulani 10, Eknath Kerkar c Sachin b Kotian 10, Shreekant Wagh c Rahane b Mulani 14, Lakshay Garg b Mulani 0, Amulya Pandrekar (not out) 23, Amit Yadav c Sachin b Kotian 19; Extras (b-2, lb-1): 3; Total (48 overs): 112.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-10, 3-17, 4-21, 5-41, 6-55, 7-55, 8-63, 9-80.

Mumbai bowling: Mulani 22-6-60-5, Kulkarni 11-5-12-2, Kotian 13-4-29-3, Solanki 1-0-3-0, Avasthi 1-0-5-0.

Player-of-the-match: Shams Mulani.

Mumbai won by 119 runs. Points: Mumbai 6 (9 from 2), Goa 0 (1 from 2).