Ranji Trophy | Shardul, Rahane & Suryakumar turn the tide Mumbai’s way

Mumbai seniors Rahane, Suryakumar, and Thakur shine in Ranji Trophy quarterfinals victory over Haryana at Eden Gardens.

Mumbai seniors Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shardul Thakur led the defending champion’s dominant display over Haryana on day three of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals at the Eden Gardens here on Monday.

Rahane and Suryakumar stitched a 129-run fourth-wicket partnership as Mumbai finished the moving day 292 runs ahead after Shardul Thakur’s six for 58 shot down Haryana for 301.

Rahane and Shivam Dube saw through the last fifty minutes of the third session after Suryakumar miscued his in-fashion Supla shot off Anuj Thakral on 70.

Haryana bowlers failed to control the scoring rate under flat conditions where Rahane and Suryakumar found boundaries with ease across the ground. While the Mumbai captain was more about textbook drives and punches, the Indian T20I skipper gave the small portion of the crowd a glimpse of his cheeky hits.

Suryakumar, with his open-legged stance coupled with a high backlift, was proactive from the start, sweeping and reverse-sweeping Jayant Yadav early into his innings. He also exhibited his not-so-popular defensive game when not attempting a late cut or a pull shot.

Batting at No. 4, Rahane stayed true to his calm persona when Mumbai lost its openers — Ayush Mhatre and Akash Anand — inside 13 overs. With Siddhesh Lad, he formed a 52-run alliance for the third wicket before Jayant had the former caught behind seven runs short of his fifty.

Shardul took the morning honours, picking all the remaining five Haryana wickets. The host could only add 38 runs, falling 14 runs short of Mumbai’s first innings score. The medium-pacer sent back overnight batter Rohit Sharma in the first over. Thirty-three minutes later, he returned with the second new ball to wrap up the final four wickets, solidifying Mumbai’s position to continue aiming for the domestic treble.