TN hunt after Prasanna ton in Mumbai den

If any of the Mumbai top-order batsmen, who wore a beaten look as they gathered around the video analyst after the second day’s play against Tamil Nadu, was a Frank Sinatra fan, he would surely have been humming the first line of the famous track My Way. Amol Karhadkar reports.

If any of the Mumbai top-order batsmen, who wore a beaten look as they gathered around the video analyst after the second day’s play against Tamil Nadu, was a Frank Sinatra fan, he would surely have been humming the first line of the famous track My Way.

HT Image

‘The end is near’ look was writ large on the faces of Mumbai batsmen after their inability to apply themselves had virtually put a full stop to Mumbai’s campaign to regain the title halfway through the Ranji Trophy semifinal.

Mumbai will need a gigantic effort by their tail if they are to climb out of the gaping hole they had dug themselves, first by allowing Tamil Nadu to raise a total of 359 and then being reduced to 121 for six at stumps on Wednesday.

Mumbai’s hopes would now hinge on their tail, which has come good when it had to throughout the season.

Once Mumbai’s inexplicably defensive tactics helped Tamil Nadu add 109 runs to their overnight tally of 250 for six. R Prasanna, who scored a Ranji ton after five years, and V Yo Mahesh stitched together a 152-run stand for the seventh wicket.

Balaji’s perfect line accounted for both Mumbai openers. With all hopes on skipper Wasim Jaffer, he fell to his counterpart four balls later, thanks to umpire K Hariharan, who adjudged the former India opener leg before despite a thick inside edge onto the pads.

SCOREBOARD

Tamil Nadu Ist inn 359 in 136.1 overs (R Prasanna 154, Sandhu 5/88). Mumbai Ist inn 121 for 6 in 38 overs (S Yadav 52, Balaji 3/16)