Mumbai in trouble as big guns fail to fire again

MUMBAI: From a bad dream, Mumbai's Ranji Trophy season is fast turning into a nightmare. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side beat Baroda in the first game and then lost comprehensively to Railways at the Wankhede in the last week of December.
On Saturday, Mumbai did extremely well to restrict Karnataka to 218 in the first innings after putting up a modest 194 on a sporting track at the MCA's Bandra-Kurla Complex Ground.But their top order, minus the injured Prithvi Shaw, who will play no further part in the match, collapsed in a heap and the hosts ended Day 2 on 109-5.
Mumbai now enjoy a minuscule 85-run lead and it will take a miracle for them to turn the tables on their famed rivals on Sunday. Were it not for the efforts of Sarfaraz Khan, who's unbeaten on 53, Mumbai would have found themselves in far deeper trouble.
The youngster did a commendable job, cutting down on his natural aggressive style to resurrect the innings and struck six boundaries and two sixes in his 92-ball stay. He put on 83 runs for the fifth wicket with Shams Mulani, who was out for 31 on the last ball of the day bowled by paceman V Koushik. Mulani's effort ended tragically when he stretched out and poked at the ball only to see it caught by Abhishek Reddy at first slip.
Earlier, rookie spinners Shashank Attarde (5/58) and Shams Mulani (3/55) bowled brilliantly to keep their opponents in check, but the fourth successive collective failure of Mumbai's top order left the hosts reeling. The vastly experienced Ajinkya Rahane has contributed little after the first innings 79 against Baroda and he perished for only 1 on Saturday. He was out trying to defend from the crease an Abhimanyu Mithun delivery on the fourth ball of the fifth over.
A sequence of scores: 1, 7, 8, 5, 9 and 79 make for an ugly reading, and the India vice-captain has his task cut out when he travels with the India A team to New Zealand next week.
Mithun, meanwhile, was at his fiery best in a six-over spell before tea. Apart from Rahane, he accounted for the wickets of Siddhesh Lad (4 runs, 4 balls) and skipper Yadav. While Lad, who is yet to deliver this season, hit the ball straight back into Mithun's cupped palms, Yadav was caught by wicketkeeper BR Sharath while playing what commentators call a 'nothing shot'. He seemed to be in two minds while rocking back onto his back foot and leaving a horizontal bat exposed.
It was the hour before tea that made all the difference with Mithun and V Koushik bowling unchanged for 12 overs. Koushik accounted for the other opener Aditya Tare for 6, having him caught by R Samarth at first slip.
Attarde, Mulani rise to the occasion Earlier, Karnataka, who began the day on 79/3 reached their eventual total, thanks largely to the efforts of opener R Samarth (86 runs, 139 balls, 13x4) and keeper Sharath, who contributed 46 runs. Samarth was inducted into the XI after India Test opener Mayank Agarwal was advised rest by the Indian Board and he made the most of the opportunity.
He batted cautiously but ensured he didn't miss out on the scoring opportunities after skipper Karun Nair was out without opening his account. The 26-year-old put on 78 runs in the company of Shreyas Gopal (31 runs, 85 balls, 3x4).
Attarde and Mulani, however, kept a leash on the opposition and cut down impressively on lose deliveries. They did not hesitate in inviting the batsmen to play their shots and were richly rewarded, with Attarde, featuring in only his second First Class match, taking his maiden five-wicket haul. The 28-year-old off-spinner had taken four wickets against Baroda.