A century against an all-out bowling attack, and a show of emotion upon reaching the single milestone as a remembrance of his uncle who passed away on the morning of the match. Mushir Khan, the younger brother of Test capped Sarfaraz Khan, stood tall by producing a well-crafted innings for Mumbai on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh at the Sharad Pawar Stadium, Bandra-Kurla here on Saturday.
A single to mid-wicket from left-armer Aryaman Dhaliwal brought up a pedestrian hundred in the 143rd delivery he faced.
The jump in the air showed how much the blow had affected Musheer, and when he took off his helmet, his face filled with emotion.
The batsman later said he had tears in his eyes after arriving at the landmark in memory of his uncle who passed away on Saturday morning. This uncle influenced his development as a cricketer. “First of all, this century came after a long time. The second thing is that my mother’s brother (my uncle) died this morning. So I was feeling very sad for him. I have been with him since childhood. I played with him. So I was feeling a little strange. I became emotional after I reached 100. So I cried a little.”
When the day started there was an expectation that Sarfraz would score big runs after his scores dropped in the first three innings. But Sarfaraz endured another disappointing outing, making 16 off 57 balls before falling lbw to fast bowler Vaibhav Arora. Mushir, along with Mumbai’s other centurion Siddhesh Lad, stole the show with a 157-run partnership for the fifth wicket. At 20, Mushir is the future, while 33-year-old Siddhesh Lad is a veteran of nearly 80 first-class matches. Youth and experience combined to pull Mumbai out of the woods after they were reduced to 73 for 4.
On a surface that suffered from spite early on but eased later, Mushir was the only batsman to find a modicum of opposition attack in an entertaining opening session.
The HP fast bowling trio of Arora, Vipin Sharma and Arpit Guleria searched a channel mostly on middle and middle off stump, testing each batsman during their stay at the crease. They hit the bats consistently, forced hitters into the shell, and kept a tight lid on the scoring rate.
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While others were disciplined, Mushir showed the required application, trusting his defense against straight passes and attacking the field more than once to nullify the movement. He occasionally tapped the bat against the crease, adjusted the Velcro of his gloves, and looked sideways into the thin air, but nothing affected his concentration as the speedy HP attacked him.
The right-hander also countered the left-arm double-spin threat of Mayank Dagar and Dhaliwal effectively, using both the paddle and a full-blooded sweep to keep them out of their lengths. He played around the spinners’ minds by defending a straight delivery, playing with loose hands so as not to give the nearby fielders any chances.
Mushir reached his fifty with a glance for four in the 18th minute and, after going through a difficult early stage, regained his speed with the blazing sun brightening the field considerably.
But there was a moment that got him into trouble. On 53, Mushir was hit on the side of his helmet while batting fluently on 88 through a rising Guleria delivery, which needed a doctor’s attention. But the stoppage in play did not affect his batting, and he reached a well-deserved hundred soon.
Crisis man boy
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It is no coincidence that Ladd has been called the ‘crisis man’ of the Mumbai team for many years. While many hitters thrive when their team is cruising, Ladd brings out his best in a difficult situation that requires an immediate rebuild. Saturday was another example of this and he once again rose to the occasion by scoring an unbeaten 100 off 207 balls, saving Mumbai once again when the chips were down.
Brief scores: Mumbai 289/5 in 88 overs (Mushir 112, Lad 100 not out; Guleria 2/56) against Himachal Pradesh.
(Tags for translation)Ranji Trophy
