Feb 26, 2012
MUMBAI: Chasing 252 on a supportive track and seaming conditions was never going to be easy for Mumbai, against Saurashtra in their West Zone one-day league match for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, at the Wankhede stadium on Saturday.
And their task was further compounded by four early wickets. Struggling at 40/4 by the 10th over, even the die-hard fan would have ruled out a Mumbai win.
But there was a debutante who had other plans. Shoaib Shaikh walked out to bat when Suryakumar Yadav ran himself out while stealing a cheeky single.
Shaikh had made it to Mumbai's one-day team by the sheer burden of his runs on the domestic circuit - he had only recently scored two hundreds in the KC Mahindra Invitational Shield.
Shaikh knew if he could stay at the wicket, he could seal it for Mumbai. Sure, he took his time to settle down, but once he got in, he never looked back. Shaikh, along with Anup Revandkar, added 63 runs for the fifth wicket. The partnership was zero flash and all patience and finesse.
The duo kept their heads down and started accumulating runs for Mumbai. An occasional boundary was welcome, even acknowledged by the other, but the task at hand was never forgotten.
By the time Revandkar left, run out for 45 in the 30over, Mumbai had reached 114. To be able to chase the target, Mumbai had to go slightly over five an over. But at the 30-over mark, they were going just above four an over. "We did play a bit slow," admitted Shaikh.
"We had lost four wickets and one more wicket would have been extremely dangerous. We didn't want to take that chance and throw away another one cheaply."
For a 25-year-old, Shaikh exercised tremendous refrain from playing his strokes. Skipper Ajit Agarkar joined Shaikh after Revandkar departed. This time the duo added 43. Agarkar, of course, was the more dominating partner in this sixth-wicket alliance.
Agarkar scored a 21-ball 28 before being dismissed by Kamlesh Makwana. Ankit Chavan (7) followed his skipper next. His dismissal brought to the crease Shaikh's roommate at the Garware Club (the Mumbai team is put up there), Iqbal Abdulla. The roomies put on 53 runs.
Earlier, Agarkar won the toss and put Saurashtra in. Sagar Jogiyani chipped in with 67 at the top, but the hero for the visitors was once again Chirag Jani, who scored a 71-ball 79.
And their task was further compounded by four early wickets. Struggling at 40/4 by the 10th over, even the die-hard fan would have ruled out a Mumbai win.
But there was a debutante who had other plans. Shoaib Shaikh walked out to bat when Suryakumar Yadav ran himself out while stealing a cheeky single.
Shaikh had made it to Mumbai's one-day team by the sheer burden of his runs on the domestic circuit - he had only recently scored two hundreds in the KC Mahindra Invitational Shield.
Shaikh knew if he could stay at the wicket, he could seal it for Mumbai. Sure, he took his time to settle down, but once he got in, he never looked back. Shaikh, along with Anup Revandkar, added 63 runs for the fifth wicket. The partnership was zero flash and all patience and finesse.
The duo kept their heads down and started accumulating runs for Mumbai. An occasional boundary was welcome, even acknowledged by the other, but the task at hand was never forgotten.
By the time Revandkar left, run out for 45 in the 30over, Mumbai had reached 114. To be able to chase the target, Mumbai had to go slightly over five an over. But at the 30-over mark, they were going just above four an over. "We did play a bit slow," admitted Shaikh.
"We had lost four wickets and one more wicket would have been extremely dangerous. We didn't want to take that chance and throw away another one cheaply."
For a 25-year-old, Shaikh exercised tremendous refrain from playing his strokes. Skipper Ajit Agarkar joined Shaikh after Revandkar departed. This time the duo added 43. Agarkar, of course, was the more dominating partner in this sixth-wicket alliance.
Agarkar scored a 21-ball 28 before being dismissed by Kamlesh Makwana. Ankit Chavan (7) followed his skipper next. His dismissal brought to the crease Shaikh's roommate at the Garware Club (the Mumbai team is put up there), Iqbal Abdulla. The roomies put on 53 runs.
Earlier, Agarkar won the toss and put Saurashtra in. Sagar Jogiyani chipped in with 67 at the top, but the hero for the visitors was once again Chirag Jani, who scored a 71-ball 79.
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