The foundation was already laid on Monday following Shardul Thakur’s six-for and the 129-run partnership between captain Ajinkya Rahane and Suryakumar Yadav, which had propelled Mumbai’s lead to 292.
On Tuesday at Eden Gardens, Shardul (3/26) struck again with three scalps. His pace colleague Royston Dias (5/39) also starred with a maiden fifer in first-class cricket
as Mumbai prevailed over Haryana by 152 runs to advance to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy.
Mumbai will take on Vidarbha in the semi-final from February 17. Vidarbha beat Tamil Nadu by 198 runs in their quarter-final in Nagpur.
Mumbai skipper Rahane, resuming on 88, registered his 41st first-class ton in the morning session. But soon after his dismissal off Anuj Thakral, Mumbai lost their last five wickets for only 25 runs mostly due to poor application. From 314/5, Mumbai’s second essay ended at 339.
However, for Haryana, it was a stiff task to chase down the 354-run target and the start they got off to was far from ideal, losing captain Ankit Kumar to Shardul with only 24 on board. Shardul took his match haul to nine wickets, dismissing Himanshu Rana and Rohit Sharma.
The fourth-day pitch did not have a lot to offer, yet Shardul got a fair bit of movement to trouble the Haryana batters. It appeared Mumbai would wrap up the game by the end of the second session when Haryana had lost half their side for just 60. But Lakshay Dalal (64) and Sumit Kumar (62) offered good resistance with a 90-run sixth-wicket stand.
Fortunately for Mumbai, spinner all-rounder Tanush Kotian gave them the breakthrough by accounting for Dalal before Royston picked up his second wicket, Sumit, with an away-going delivery. The left-arm quick picked up two more before dismissing Jayant Yadav as Haryana were all out for 201.
“There wasn’t much help on the Day IV track. So, our focus was bowling a disciplined line which worked,” Royston said after the win.
Brief scores: Mumbai 315 & 339 (Ajinkya Rahane 108; Anuj Thakral 4/70). Haryana 301 & 201 (Lakshay Dalal 64, Sumit Kumar 62; Royston Dias 5/39). Mumbai won by 152 runs.