Mumbai crush Andhra

Nilesh Kulkarni returned his career best figures by grabbing seven wickets as holders Mumbai swamped Andhra by an innings and 121 runs with more than a session to spare in the Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group 'A' match at Mumbai on Sunday.

Lanky left-arm spinner Kulkarni claimed the first six Andhra wickets before ending up with superb figures of 7 for 60 to help Mumbai bowl the visiting squad for 278 in the second innings after they followed on 399 runs behind.

Yalaka Gnaneswara Rao slammed a defiant, unbeaten 96 in more than four and a half hours with 14 fours and opener Amit Pathak made a patient 88 (283 minutes, 15 fours), but no other Andhra batsman showed any semblance of a fight.

Andhra had resumed on the last day at the overnight score of 133 for 4 and were dismissed an hour before tea.

The writing was on the wall after Andhra allowed Mumbai to pile up the imposing first innings total of 515 for nine declared and then collapsed for a paltry 116 in reply to concede the massive lead.

With better support from the other batsmen, in which India hopeful and Gnaneswara's brother Venugopal was the biggest disappointment, Andhra could have fared better in the second essay.

Mumbai gained five points, including one bonus point for gaining an innings victory, to take their points tally to seven from three ties. Andhra did not get a point and have two to their credit from three ties.

Andhra's best hope of earning a draw rested on their overnight unbeaten batsmen Pathak and Gnaneswara batting for most of the fourth and final day. But it was not to be as the former, 59 overnight, fell in the 14th over of the morning.

Kulkarni, who had sent back all the four batsmen who were dismissed last evening, gave the breakthrough to the hosts.

The India discard forced Pathak to edge to wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant to bring to an end the stubborn fifth wicket stand at 176.

Kulkarni, whose previous best in first class cricket was his haul of 6 for 37 against Baroda in Vadodara nine seasons ago, then dismissed Syed Kadiri Shahabuddin through a catch in the slips to make it 199 for six.

At the other end, Gnaneswara was batting without any trouble and was carting the ball around with drives, steers and cuts even as he was running out of partners.

Short and stocky off spinner Ramesh Powar, who had claimed two wickets in the first innings, then got rid off Raja Vasireddy Prasad and Mohammad Faiq cheaply through catches in the close-in cordon to tighten the noose around Andhra.

Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna became Kulkarni's seventh and last victim when he was caught at gully by a diving Powar before Mumbai skipper Sairaj Bahutule came back into the attack to terminate the innings by dismissing last man Vanapalli Appa Rao.

Gnaneswara Rao remained stranded four short of a well-deserved century after facing 215 balls.

Scoreboard:

Mumbai 1st innings: 515 for 9 decl.

Andhra 1st innings: 116

Andhra 2nd Innings (overnight 133 for 4):
A Pathak c Samant b Kulkarni 88
L N P Reddy c Samant b Kulkarni 33
A S K Verma lbw Kulkarni 8
Y Venugopal Rao c and b Kulkarni 5
M S K Prasad c Indulkar b Kulkarni 4
Y Gnaneswara Rao not out 96
K S Shahabuddin c Muzumdar b Kulkarni 15
R V C H Prasad c Indulkar b Powar  6
Mohd Faiq c Muzumdar b Powar 6
D Kalyankrishna c Powar b Kulkarni 6
V V V Appa Rao lbw Bahutule 1

Extras: (b-1, lb-5, nb-4)    10

Total: (all out, 119.5 overs)  278

Fall of wickets: 1-78, 2-85, 3-89, 4-94, 5-176, 6-199, 7-225, 8-241, 9-254.

Bowling: Agarkar 15-3-55-0, Shinde 9-3-26-0, Kulkarni 40-13-60-7, Bahutule 26.5-10-50-1, Powar 28-3-79-2, Muzumdar 1-0-2-0.