Musheer is the star of the match
The umpire was unmoved by Musheer Khan’s loud, desperation plea, but it did wake up two young men who were napping close to the Sachin Tendulkar monument in the top row of the Vijay Merchant Pavilion. The gentle sun and mild sea breeze made the stand an ideal location for an afternoon siesta. There was stillness even from the band that had been brought in to celebrate Mumbai’s 42nd Ranji Trophy victory at the MCA Pavilion. Additionally, there was no chance of missing any activity. Because there wasn’t much. It seemed that way, at least.
Karun Nair showed some promise
After Mumbai challenged them with a mammoth target of 538 in the Ranji Trophy final, Vidarbha had two templates to choose from. One, by Musheer Khan who batted for more than seven hours for his century. And then there was the Shreyas Iyer – absent from the field on Wednesday – way, an aggressive approach from the get-go to get close to a ton inside two hours. Vidarbha chose the former.
To their credit, they took the match to Day 5, which would have been their first target. At the same time, the two-time winners still find themselves needing 290 runs to win and the onus to pull off the unlikeliest of heists is on their lower order. At stumps on Day 4, Vidarbha were 248/5 chasing 538. Had Karun Nair not been removed by Mumbai in the final 30 minutes of the day, things might not have appeared that bad for Vidarbha. It was not shocking that Musheer was the one who made the breakthrough.
Magnificent Musheer
Despite playing in just five innings for Mumbai thus far this season, the 19-year-old has significantly improved their results. With 433 runs at an average of above 100, Mumbai is now more likely than ever to break their drought of Ranji titles. However, Musheer will be wronged if his contribution is just evaluated in terms of numbers. His contagious energy and ability to grind are what make him so effective on the field. Musheer bowled 20 overs on Wednesday after batting for approximately 500 minutes on the second and third days. Musheer recognized deep down that the bowlers could have to work hard because there wasn’t much to the pitch. And toil he did, but at no stage did he look tired.