Mumbai beat Maharashtra by 7 wickets
Rajkot: A sparkling century by opener Ajinkya Rahane and a useful half-century by skipper Wasim Jaffer fashioned a dominating seven wicket win for Mumbai over Maharashtra in the Ranji One-day match on Thursday.
Chasing a small target of 211 runs, Rahane and Jaffer provided Mumbai a solid start as they added 145 runs for the first wicket and virtually sealed the match in their side’s favour.
Jaffer made a quick fire 70 off 65 balls with the help of eight fours and a six, while Rahane went on to play an impressive knock of 101 runs off 94 balls.
Rahane’s knock was studded with 12 fours and a six. Following Rahane’s dismissal by Ganesh Gaikwad, Amol Mazumdar (26 not out) and Aditya Tere (6 not out) completed the formalities for Mumbai, as they wrapped the match in 37.2 overs, fetching the team a bonus point in the process.
Gaikwad was the lone successful bowler for Maharashtra as he took all the three wickets to fell, giving away 40 runs.
Earlier, electing to field first, Mumbai restricted Maharashtra at 210 for 8 wickets in their 50 overs.
Harshad Khadiwale (39, 46b, 5X4,1X6) and Ganesh Gaikwad (58, 67b, 3X4) were the only batsmen who could resist the Mumbai attack.
Left arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah and medium pacer, Abhishek Nayar took three wickets each conceding 45 and 31 runs respectively.
With this win, Mumbai have kept themselves in contention for a berth in the All India Vijay Hazare One-day tournament.
Brief Score: Maharashtra 210 for 8 (Harshad Khadiwale 39, Ganesh Gaikwad 58, Iqbal Abdullah 3 for 45, Abhishek Nayar 3 for 31) against Mumbai 213 for 3 (Ajinkya Rahane 101, Wasim Jaffer 70, Ganesh Gaikwad 3 for 40).