Shardul Thakur remained at the forefront of the Mumbai attack as his hat-trick and unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Ajinkya Rahane (83) and Siddhesh Lad (89) helped the hosts build a 127-run lead against Meghalaya on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash in Mumbai on Thursday.
Thakur found adequate help from another opening-day bowling-friendly surface as well as from fellow bowlers Mohit Avasthi (3/27), Sylvester D'Souza (2/14) and Shams Mulani (1/1) as Mumbai shot out Meghalaya for a lowly 86.
In reply, a sturdy unbeaten 170-run stand for the third wicket between Rahane and Lad powered Mumbai to 213/2 at stumps in their must-win last group stage clash at the MCA BKC Ground.
Mumbai captain Rahane made the right call of bowling first and Thakur was all over Meghalaya right from the word go.
Pitching the ball up to exploit the early moisture on the wicket and the new ball, the India all-rounder found the perfect line and lengths to record only the fifth hat-trick for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy history.
Thakur provided Mumbai with an early breakthrough getting Meghalaya opener Nishanta Chakraborty (0) caught by Shams Mulani at the slip cordon on the fourth ball of the innings.
But it was in his second over and third of the innings when the carnage unfolded for Meghalaya, with Thakur claiming a hat-trick.
With three consecutive deliveries, he dismissed B Anirudh, Sumit Kumar and Jaskirat, all without scoring, leaving Meghalaya at a dire 5 for 5.
Thakur became the fifth bowler in Mumbai's history to achieve this milestone in the Ranji Trophy.
Meghalaya soon slipped to 2/6 on the first ball of the fourth over as Mohit Avasthi cleaned up opener Arpit Subhas (2), in danger to possibly record the lowest Ranji Trophy total ever.
But Pringsang Sangma (19), skipper Akash Kumar (16), Anish Charak (17) and Himan Phukan (28) did extremely well to negotiate the rampaging Mumbai bowlers and drag Meghalaya as far as 86 all-out in the first essay.
Mumbai lost Ayush Mhatre (5) early but a cautious approach thereon helped the hosts crawl past Meghalaya's paltry score, but in doing so the hosts' batters Lad (89 off 155 balls) and Rahane (83 off 150) took away the fight from the less fancied visitors.
If Lad was resolute in defence and attack alike, Rahane raised his first half-century of the season while peppering the on-side with attractive stroke play which was the highlight of his knock.
Meanwhile, as Mumbai tightened screws on Meghalaya, their star player and India captain Rohit Sharma hit the nets adjacent to the BKC Ground on Thursday morning for a half-an-hour session against fast bowlers and throw down specialists.
As if it was a conscious approach, Rohit curbed his attacking instincts throughout the stint to focus on defence against the white-ball as he prepares for ODI assignments against England and Champions Trophy.
At Vadodara, fresh off a famous five-wicket victrory over defending champions Mumbai, Jammu and Kashmir seemed to have squandered a solid platform as they slipped from 106/3 to 246 all-out with only Kanhaiya Wadhawan (71) putting up resistance.
But in reply, Baroda were rocked twice as they reached 29/2, trailing by another 217 runs in the first innings with the race to quarter-finals intensifying with three teams in fray for top-two finish.
J&K lead the Group A points table followed by Baroda and Mumbai at second and third respectively.
At Cuttack, Rajesh Mohanty's 61-ball 60 with eight fours and four boundaries was the only bright spot for hosts Odisha who were shot out for a mere 180 in the first essay by Services.
At the close of play, Services, who were rocked twice in quick succession, reached 85 for two, trailing by another 95 runs in the first innings.
Elsewhere in Solapur, visitors Tripura crawled to 230/5 against Maharashtra.
Brief scores:
At Mumbai: Meghalaya 86 in 24.3 overs (Himan Phukan 28; Shardul Thakur 4/43, Mohit Avasthi 3/27, Sylvester D'Souza 2/14, Shams Mulani 1/1) trail Mumbai 213/2 in 59 overs (Siddhesh Lad 89*, Ajinkya Rahane 83*; Anish Charak 1/50) by 127 runs.
At Vadodara: Jammu and Kashmir 246 in 71.3 overs (Vivrant Sharma 43, Paras Dogra 43, Kanhaiya Wadhwan 71; Mahesh Pithiya 3/62, Ninad Rathva 5/43) lead Baroda 29/2 in 15.3 overs (Shivalik Sharma 16*; Sahil Lotra 1/5, Shubham Khajuria 0/1) by 217 runs.
At Cuttack: Odisha 180 in 62.2 overs (Rajesh Mohanty 60; Jayant Goyat 3/33, PS Poonia 4/33) lead Services 85/2 in 23 overs (Ravi Chauhan 40*; Sunil Kumar Roul 1/20) by 95 runs.
At Solapur: Tripura 230/5 in 89 overs (S Sharath 66*; Hitesh Walunj 3/59) vs Maharashtra.
© 2025