Jammu and Kashmir on January 25 scripted history at Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC as they beat Mumbai in Ranji Trophy after a long gap of 10 years.
Shardul Thakur's fighting 119 in Mumbai's second innings went in vain as the visitors chased down the target of 205 with five wickets in hand on Day 3 of the clash.
J & K's top-order -- Shubham Khajuria (45), Yawer Hassan (24) and Vivrant Sharma (34) got the run chase off to a good start. Later, it was Abid Mushtaq and wicketkeeper-batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan who finished the run chase.
Earlier, India Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma made a return to Ranji Trophy after more than nine years. Rohit did not do well in the first innings and was dismissed for a single-digit score. His opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed cheaply as well. Mumbai suffered a batting collapse. It was Thakur's fifty that took Mumbai's score past 100. He scored a fighting fifty. For the visitors pacers Umar Nazir and Yudhvir Singh bagged four wickets each.
In reply, opener Khajuria's half-century and Mushtaq's 37-ball 44 helped J & K post 206 on the board and take a 86-run lead. For Mumbai, Mohit Avasthi claimed a five-wicket haul.
In the second innings, Rohit walked out with an intent to attack. He entertained the crowd with a couple of fours and three sixes. He was dismissed for a 35-ball 28 by Yudhvir. Jaiswal could not go on to get a big score either and departed for 26. Once again, skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube failed to make an impact in the match. Mumbai lost seven wickets for 101.
Then Thakur and Tanush Kotian led Mumbai's fightback. Kotian played second fiddle and scored 62 runs from 136 balls. Thakur made a statement with a 119-run knock from 135 balls including 18 fours. Mumbai were dismissed for 290 and set a 205-run target.
When was the last time J & K beat Mumbai?
In 2014, at Wankhede Stadium, J & K beat Mumbai by four wickets. Khajuria scored a century followed by a 78-run knock in the run chase of 237. Suryakumar Yadav was the captain of the Mumbai team. Iyer and Thakur were part of the side as well. Interestingly, Umar Nazir bagged a four-wicket haul in that match as well.
