Guwahati: Is it Bihu yet? No, but if you were watching the Assamese cricket team, it would almost feel like they felt the Bihu celebrations reverberating much before the rest of the state. After all, it is not often that a team gets outscored by two batsmen in both innings.
And no, there were no demons on the pitch used for the Elite Group B encounter that Assam lost by an innings and 128 runs to Mumbai at the newly-built Amingaon Cricket Stadium.
Batting on a deteriorating track is understandably difficult, but an abject surrender was the least the hosts would have expected as Assam’s scores across both innings (370 & 189) fell short of Prithvi Shaw (379) and Ajinkya Rahane’s (191) combined score by 11 runs. Mumbai declared their first innings with a mammoth 687/4 on the board.
Well, to be fair to the home side, this was their first loss in five outings this Ranji Trophy season, after registering an 18-run win over Hyderabad and securing draws against Maharashtra, Delhi and Saurashtra.
On Wednesday evening, when this correspondent interacted with Rahane, the Mumbai skipper had predicted that the pitch could deteriorate over the final two days but at the same time asserted that it would be a task for his bowlers to get all 20 wickets, as the wicket was still a good one to bat on.
“It’s a great wicket to bat on initially for the first couple of days, but it started deteriorating once the game progressed because of the footmarks and the amount of fielding over two days. But having said that, we have to bowl them well. It’s not that they will get out cheaply, we need to chip in hard,” Rahane told EastMojo after the day’s play.
Rahane, who fell nine short of a second double-century this season, was visibly disappointed on having missed out on the landmark but said he would be happier if his team managed to cross the line.
“There is disappointment… itna paas aake (to have come so close) to have missed the double century. But if we win this game, I will be happier than scoring a double hundred. For me, the team matters. Winning matters the most. That’s my mindset,” he had quipped.
Bolstered by the return of his India teammate Shardul Thakur to lead Mumbai’s bowling attack, the star Test batter did not mince words as he aimed to go for the kill at the picturesque venue on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra.
“Four-day cricket is all about bowling in partnerships, bowling patiently and creating pressure (over the opposition),” he asserted.
Thakur did respond to his skipper’s faith with a combined haul of five wickets, more importantly in the second essay with three scalps after Mumbai enforced a follow-on, having taken a comfortable 317-run first-innings lead.
The spin duo of Shams Mulani (4/111) and Tanush Kotian (2/56) starred for the visitors in the first innings as Assam were skittled out for 370, mainly built around half-centuries from Rahul Hazarika (79), Rishav Das (75), skipper Gokul Sharma (70) and stumper Abhishek Thakuri’s 51.
With four sessions left in the game, Assam could have regrouped and offered some resistance to ensure a draw going into the final day. However, the Mumbai new ball pair of Thakur and Mohit Avasthi had other ideas.
The duo wasted no time in removing Assam’s top five within the first four overs of the second innings, to leave the home side reeling at a precarious 17/5.
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From there on, it was only a matter of time before Gokul came up with a patient 136-ball 82, his second successive half-century of the match, to save Assam’s blushes. Tailender Roshan Alam’s 38-ball cameo of 42 also came in at the right time before the Mumbai boys completed the formalities to romp home by a massive margin. This was Mumbai’s third win in five games.
“For me, it is about scoring runs for Mumbai and winning matches for the team. I like to stay in the moment. My dream is to play for India again,” came Rahane’s parting words as he served another reminder to Chetan Sharma’s team of senior BCCI selectors before they picked the team for the four-Test rubber against the Australians, starting February 9.
For now, the Assam team has Bihu celebrations to look forward to.
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