Mumbai gained three points on the basis of a first innings lead from the drawn game against Karnataka at the Wankhede Stadium. With Baroda out of the race after their loss to Tamil Nadu, Mumbai have qualified for the quarter-finals.
Udit Patel (4/55), Abhimanyu Mithun and Shreyas Gopal ran through the Mumbai line-up earlier in the day while Suryakumar Yadav slammed an unbeaten 77 to set the opposition a 245-run target (to be attained in minimum 39 overs). In pursuit of a victory to boost their chances of qualification for knock-outs, Mumbai declared their innings mid-way through the second session on 223/8, hence setting the stage for the possibility of a result. Baroda’s loss to TN earlier in the afternoon improved Mumbai’s chances for qualification, but a berth in the quarter-final depended on the outcome of the MP vs Bengal game. With that match ending in a draw, Mumbai have made it through to the next stage.
Defending a competitive target, Akshay Girap knocked back R Samarth’s middle-stump to leave Karnataka on 19/1. However, Robin Uthappa batting circumspectly with Kunal Kapoor then took the table-toppers to Tea at 38/1.
With the Karnataka pair continuing to score steadily in the final session, the match inched towards a draw. Besides Shardul Thakur early on, Mumbai plied on with three spinners – Harmeet Singh, Girap and part-timer Siddhesh Lad – as the visitors chipped away at the bowling.
When the match deemed a draw, Karnataka were 110/1 with Uthappa unbeaten 44 and Kapoor not-out on 50.
Earlier, resuming on 19 without loss, Mumbai lost Aditya Tare for the addition of 11 runs in the morning. The Mumbai captain was out leg-before wicket to Abhimanyu Mithun in the sixth over of the day. A little over ten overs later for the addition of 25 runs to the total, Shreyas Iyer edged Shreyas Gopal to Vinay Kumar in the slips leaving Mumbai on 55/2. Manish Pandey then dropped Shrideep Mangela at leg-slip off the next ball. But off the following delivery, the opener struck the bowler to short mid-wicket.
With two wickets in an over Mumbai had two new batsmen at the crease. Abhishek Nayar, who then joined Suryakumar Yadav in the middle, departed handing a catch to Kunal Kapoor to silly mid-on off Udit Patel. The spinner then followed up with the wicket of Siddhesh Lad. The middle-order bat nicked the off-spinner to CM Gautam behind the stumps to leave Mumbai on 105/5.
With Nikhil Patil, Suryakumar Yadav then took Mumbai to Lunch at 128/5. The home team’s woes continued into the second session. The last ball of the seventh over of the session witnessed Patil being trapped leg-before by Patel two runs short of fifty. In his next over the bowler accounted for Shardul Thakur to leave the hosts reeling on 185/7.
As he looked to hold the innings together, Yadav reached his fifty with a straight six off Patel and two balls later smashed the bowler over mid-wicket for another. But he continued to lose partners at the other end. Brought back into the attack, Abhimanyu Mithun forced an edge from Harmeet Singh through to the wicketkeeper to leave Mumbai on 209/8. However, the middle-order batsman continued to milk the bowlers with Akshay Girap at the other end until Mumbai declared their innings.
Brief scores
End of Day 1: Mumbai 1st inn 342/5 in 90 overs (S Lad 94*, Nikhil Patil 85*, A Tare 72, Vinay Kumar 2/65, U Patel 2/68)
End of Day 2: Mumbai 1st inn 436 all out in 117.1 overs (S Lad 106, N Patel 106, Vinay Kumar 4/88, U Patel 3/96); Karnataka 1st inn 175/2 in 60 overs (R Samarth 85*, R Uthappa 49, A Girap 1/53, Harmeet Singh 1/63)
End of Day 3: Karnataka 1st inn 415 all out in 139.4 overs (R Samarath 180, S Bhavane 62, H Singh 6/139); Mumbai 2nd inn 19/0 in 8 overs (S Mangela 9*, A Tare 9*)
End of Day 4: Mumbai 2nd inn 223/8 decl in 57 overs (S Yadav 77*, U Patel 4/55); Karnataka 2nd inn 110/1 in 33.2 overs (K Kapoor 50*, R Uthappa 44*)
