Sajid Raina
Srinagar, Jan 23 : Jammu and Kashmir took control on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Mumbai, finishing the day on 174/7 with a lead of 54 runs.
Mumbai, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, were bundled out for a paltry 120 runs. Shardul Thakur was the top-scorer for Mumbai with a quick-fire of 51 runs.
Rohit Sharma had a short stay at the crease, scoring just 3 runs of 19 balls before being dismissed by Umar Nazir Mir.
The rest of Mumbai’s batting order also struggled, leading to a quick collapse. Yashasvi Jaiswal also went out early, scoring 5 runs.
Seamer Umar Nazir Mir bowled a tight spell, dismissing Rohit on the 13th ball he faced after 12 dot balls.
Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Tamore, Shivam Dube, and Shams Mulani followed suit, with Mumbai’s top order quickly reduced to 41/5.
Shreyas Iyer contributed 11 runs, but Mumbai continued to lose wickets. Tanush Kotian and Mohit Avasthi were dismissed shortly after, and only Shardul Thakur, who made 51, was able to offer any resistance. Mumbai were all out for 120 runs in 33.2 overs.
Umar Nazir Mir finished with 2 wickets for 43 runs, and Yudhvir Singh claimed 3 wickets for 31. The remaining bowlers, Auqib Nabi and A. Mushtaq also contributed to the dismissals.
J&K lost wickets at regular intervals, but Shubham Khajuria (53) and Abid Mushtaq (44) steadied the ship with crucial contributions. Khajuria capitalized on a dropped catch early in his innings to score a valuable half-century.
A total of 17 wickets fell on the first day, making it a highly eventful day of cricket. At stumps on Day 1, Jammu and Kashmir reached 174/7 in their first innings, establishing a crucial 54-run lead over Mumbai. J&K will look to consolidate their lead on the second day
