Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Aman Khan, Siddhant Addhatrao’s fifties help Pondicherry fight back against Mumbai
Aman Khan has played enough cricket in the maidans of Mumbai, and even featured in white-ball cricket for the domestic giant before moving on to Pondicherry last year.
And as Pondicherry struggled in its second innings of a Ranji Trophy Group-D fixture after being asked to follow-on at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, Aman came up with a counter-attacking fifty as his team lived to fight another day.
After being bundled out for 132, Pondicherry was reeling at 91 for five in the second essay when Aman walked out to bat. It looked like a matter of time before the Mumbai bowlers wrapped things up inside three days, but a determined Aman had other plans.
Dealing in sixes and boundaries, the 28-year-old not only kept the Mumbai bowlers at bay in the final session, but also brought up his half-century in just 29 balls, with a six at wide long-on off Tanush Kotian. On the way, he forged a crucial 137-run partnership for the sixth wicket with fellow Mumbaikar Siddhant Addhatrao (51 batting, 54b, 9×4), as Pondicherry ended the day at 231 for six.
Mumbai bowlers, clearly, weren’t expecting any resistance from the Pondicherry lower middle-order after Shams Mulani claimed a couple of wickets early on. But knowing the conditions well, Aman targetted off-spinner Kotian, and scored 45 runs off his 15 deliveries. As Kotian looked hassled, Aman hit him for three fours and four sixes, and also fetched 25 runs from Musheer Khan’s 10 deliveries, before being cleaned up by the latter.
Taking a cue from Aman, Siddhant, too, brought up his maiden fifty, featuring in his fifth First-Class game. As the wicket eased out, the duo banked on their experience and put the Mumbai bowlers to test. However, trailing by 267 runs, Pondicherry still has a mountain to climb.
Earlier in the day, Mohit Kale scored a fifty before falling to Mulani, as Pondicherry resumed the day at 43 for four. The Mumbai bowlers dominated before letting it slip in the final session.
The scores
Mumbai — 1st innings: 630 for 5 (decl).
Pondicherry — 1st innings: Neyan Kangayan b Shardul 0, Ajay Rohera c Mhatre b Deshpande 14, Paras Ratnaparkhe lbw b Shardul 0, Anand Singh Bais c Akash b Shardul 5, Mohit Kale c Akash b Mulani 53, Sagar Udeshi c&b Deshpande 20, Sidhaant Aadhhatrao lbw b Kotian 23, Aman Khan b Kotian 12, Jayant Yadav st Akash b Mulani 1, Sabhay Chadha c Avasthi b Kotian 1, Abin Mathew (not out) 1; Extras (lb-1, nb-1, b-1): 3; Total (in 47.2 overs): 132.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-8, 4-26, 5-69, 6-113, 7-129, 8-130, 9-132.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul 9-3-22-3, Avasthi 10-2-26-0, Deshpande 9-1-26-2, Mulani 10-3-23-2, Kotian 9.2-1-33-3.
Pondicherry — 2nd innings: Neyan Kangayan lbw b Kotian 42, Ajay Rohera c Sarfaraz b Deshpande 0, Paras Ratnaparkhe c Akash b Shardul 1, Mohit Kale c (sub) Patil b Mulani 35, Anand Singh Bais c Deshpande B Mulani 8, Sidhaant Aadhhatrao (batting) 51, Aman Khan b Musheer 86, Jayant Yadav (batting) 3; Extras (lb-1, b-4): 5; Total (for six wkts. in 45 overs) 231.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 3-2, 3-69, 4-85, 5-91, 6-228.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul 5-0-10-1, Deshpande 5-0-28-1, Avasthi 4-0-15-0, Mulani 17-3-67-2, Kotian 10-1-70-1, Musheer 4-0-36-1.
Published on Nov 18, 2025
