Ranji Trophy: Mumbai’s best efforts to claim outright win against Chhattisgarh falls through
Ayush Pandey’s gritty ton thwarted Mumbai’s bid for an outright win against Chhattisgarh despite the home team enforcing a follow-on in a Group D fixture of the Ranji Trophy.
At the MCA-BKC ground on Tuesday, the seasoned spinner Shams Mulani claimed yet another five-wicket haul as Mumbai bundled out Chhattisgarh for 217 in the first innings and aimed for a win to grab those crucial six points.
Enjoying a lead of 199 runs, the Mumbai camp looked confident of picking up ten wickets in the second essay, and two early wickets further boosted its chances. However, with Ayush (117 not out, 168b, 17×4, 1×6) bringing up his second First-Class century and forging an unbroken 86-run partnership with captain Amandeep Khare, Mumbai had to remain content with three points by virtue of the first innings lead.
The 22-year-old Ayush was in no rush to score runs. In fact, having scored a fifty in the first innings, he knew that with the surface easing out, he just had to stay calm and execute his plans.
Mumbai persisted with three spinners—Mulani, Musheer Khan, and Himanshu Singh—who claimed one wicket apiece, and of the 58 overs, only seven were bowled by fast bowlers. Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur, who did not bowl in the second innings, later confirmed that it was a conscious decision to give a break to the fast bowlers.
Even as it lost a couple of wickets early, Ayush did not allow the left-arm spinners in particular to settle in, as he wanted to score off the incoming deliveries. Against Himanshu, he played more on the off-side to ensure there were no slip-ups.
Earlier, Mulani furrowed the tail as Chhattisgarh lost its last four wickets for 42 runs. Mumbai did go all out for a win, but in vain.
Published on Oct 28, 2025
