Vijay Hazare Trophy: Mumbai defeat Saurashtra to register their first win of season

After an unexpected loss against Chhattisgarh, Mumbai bounced back with a win in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Saurashtra. Responsible half-centuries from captain Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav ensured that defending champions Mumbai registered their first win of the season as they defeated Saurashtra by five wickets in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Chasing a formidable target of 246 in their Elite Group A match at the Alur Cricket Stadium III, Mumbai managed to seal a win against Saurashtra with two overs to spare with Iyer’s gritty 75 and Surya’s formidable unbeaten 85.

Winning the toss, Mumbai decided to bowl and sent Saurashtra to bat first. The decision worked for Mumbai as Saurashtra opener Harvik Desai (0) was trapped in front of the wicket by experienced pacer Dhawal Kulkarni.

However, Sheldon Jackson (35) and one-down Samarth Vyas (34) stabilised the innings with their 78-run stand for the second wicket. But the duo failed to convert their innings into a big score as they were removed by spinner Shams Mulani who sent them back in quick succession. This led  Saurashtra in a spot of bother with the team hanging at 3/79.

But Arpit Vasavada showed some composure and made a gritty 59 off 75 balls, striking five fours, to rebuild the Saurashtra innings. While Vasavada fell shortly after registering a fifty, an unbeaten 40 by No. 7 batsman Chirag Jani ensured that Saurashtra went past the 240-run mark.

Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur and spinner Mulani grabbed three wickets each for their side.

Despite losing both the openers in the first two overs, skipper Shreyas Iyer (73) and Aditya Tare (29) conjured a 101-run stand for the third wicket to steady Mumbai’s ship. While Saurashtra made a tiny comeback, Surya Kumar Yadav's 85 not out ensured that the team registered a comfortable win.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 245/9 (A V Vasavada 59, Chirag Jani 40 not out; Shardul Thakur 3-36) lost to Mumbai 248/5 (Surya Kumar Yadav 85 not out, Shreyas Iyer 73, Shubham Ranjane 45 not out; Kushang Patel 2-13) by 5 wickets.

Mumbai 4 points, Saurashtra 0 points.