All-rounder Shivam Dube picked up a five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha. The 31-year-old is one of the three non-travelling reserves for India in the upcoming Champions Trophy, slated to begin on February 19. Notably, Dube dismissed Parth Rekhade, Karun Nair, Harsh Dubey, Nachiket Bhute and Yash Thakur to complete his five-wicket haul at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
Batting first, the hosts managed a terrific start as opener Dhruv Shorey made 74 runs. Batting at four, Danish Malewar scored 79, Nair made 45 and Yash Rathod hit 54. Courtesy of their significant contribution, Vidarbha posted 383 runs on the board in the first innings. Shardul Thakur, who had a terrific campaign for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji, managed to clinch only one, conceding 78 runs in 19 overs.
Meanwhile, Mumbai struggled with the bat in the second innings. Young opener Ayush Mhatre departed for nine, while Siddhesh Lad scored 35. Captain Ajinkya Rahane arrived at the crease when Mumbai were reduced to 85/2. He was expected to give some stability but the veteran departed for 18 runs off 24 deliveries. India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav batted at five, and he scored a duck, followed by another duck from Dube. With that, Mumbai were reduced to 118/6.
The Rahane-led side missed Sarfaraz and Musheer Khan's services in the knockouts. They played a vital role in the team’s success in the last Ranji edition. This time, Sarfaraz was reported to have suffered an injury and has only been back in the nets recently. Musheer, on the other hand, fractured his net in a car crash, just before the Irani Cup. He has been out of action ever since.In the other Ranji Trophy match, Kerala have had the upper hand against Gujarat, having scored almost 400 runs and are yet to declare. Mohammad Azharuddeen has been sensational, scoring a hundred at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
