Mumbai in strong position against TN in Ranji Trophy

Medium pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Tushar Deshpande wrecked havoc by grabbing four wickets apiece as Mumbai put themselves in the drivers seat by dismissing Tamil Nadu for a paltry 87 on the opening day in their Ranji Trophy Group A match here today.
Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare's decision to insert opposition in proved right as Kulkarni and Deshpande ripped through the Tamil Nadu batting line-up at the Bansi lal Cricket Stadium here.
Only three Tamil Nadu batsmen could reach to double digit scores with Baba Indrajith being the highest scorer with 28 not out.
Kulkarni, who scalped Tamil Nadu's top three batsmen, returned with figures of four for 31 while Deshpande gave away 25 runs for his four wickets. Another medium pacer Balwinder Sandhu got two wickets for 14 runs to rout Tamil Nadu who were dismissed in 45.3 overs.

In reply, Mumbai also struggled but not to the extent Tamil Nadu had done. Mumbai were 85 for 4 in 32 overs at stumps to trail by 2 runs with six first innings wickets still in hand.
One-drop Kaustubh Pawar was batting on 28, in company with captain Tare (22 batting).

Jay Bista (7) was the first Mumbai batsman to fall at the team score of 22 before his opening partner Akhil Herwadkar (17) followed him at 45 for 2. Soon, Mumbai slumped to 45 for 3 and then 53 for 4 before Pawar and Tare shared 32 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket stand.

For Tamil Nadu, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh grabbed two wickets while Aswin Crist and J Kousik got one each.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 87 all out in 45.3 overs (Baba Indrajith 28 not out; Dhawal Kulkarni 4/31, Tushar Deshpande 4/25).
Mumbai: 85 for 4 in 32 overs (Kaustubh Pawar 26 batting, Aditya Tare batting; Krishnamoorthy Vignesh 2/5).