Mumbai need 246 runs to beat Tamil Nadu in Ranji semi-final

Defending champions Mumbai need 246 runs to win, after Tamil Nadu declared their second innings at 356-6 on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Wednesday.

Chasing 251 runs to win, Mumbai reached five for no loss as openers Prithvi Shaw (2) and Praful Waghela (3) were at the crease when umpires called it a day.

Earlier, after bowling out Mumbai for 411, Tamil Nadu's openers Ganga Sridhar Raju (28) and Abhinav Mukund (122) gave a steady start in the second innings as both batsmen forged a 64-run partnership before Raju was sent back to the pavilion by Balwinder Sandhu in the 21st over.

The fall of Raju's wicket brought in Baba Indrajith (138), who along with Mukund shared a 185-run partnership for the second wicket to give their team a big boost.

Just when both players seemed good in the middle, Mukund was dismissed in the 64th over by Akshay Girap, with the scoreboard reading 249-2. His 186-ball knock was laced with 11 boundaries.

Middle-order batsmen Dinesh Karthik (24) and Vijay Shankar (24) also contributed to the score before skipper Mukund decided to declared the innings.

For Mumbai, Sandhu and Vijay Gohil scalped two wickets each while Shardul Thakur and Girap took one wicket each.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu first innings 305 and 356 (Abhinav Mukund 122, Baba Indrajit 138; Sandhu 2-67) vs Mumbai first innings 411 and 5/0 (Praful Waghela not out 3) on Day 4.

--IANS

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