MUMBAI: Over the years, Mumbai, thanks to rapid urbanization, has spread far and wide. Accordingly, the city’s tremendous cricket talent too is growing bigger and bigger.
On Friday, at the MCA ground in BKC, on Day One of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy Group A Elite match against neighbours Maharashtra , one saw another prodigious talent, who should sparkle for a few years to come, arrive on this stage in grand style.
Playing just his third first-class match, 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre - he undertakes a 46km local train journey every day from his home in Virar at 5am for practice at the Oval Maidan at Churchgate with his grandfather (nana) - slammed a brilliant, unbeaten century (127 not out, 163, 17x4 3x6) to help Mumbai coast to 220 for three, after his team had shot out Maharashtra for just 126 in 31.4 overs in the morning session. It was the teenaged batsman’s maiden hundred in first-class cricket, in a career which promises many more.
A free-stroking, confident player, who adores Indian captain Rohit Sharma, especially due to his signature pull shot, Mhatre, clearly Mumbai's find of the season, looks good while driving the ball and attacking the spinners, but it is the pleasing way he punches the ball off the backfoot that reminds you of a certain Wasim Jaffer.
Whatever glimmer of hope of a fightback that Maharashtra had envisioned after pacer Pradeep Dadhe’s early twin strikes- Prithvi Shaw (1, lbw) and ‘keeper-bat Hardik Tamore (4, caught behind) both succumbed to him-reduced Mumbai to 24 for two, evaporated when Mhatre, who had scored a half-century (52) in the last match Mumbai, took charge, adding 99 in 146 balls for the third wicket with his captain Ajinkya Rahane (31, 64b, 5x4) and then 97 off just 125 balls in an unfinished for the fourth wicket with Shreyas Iyer (45 not out, 59b, 4x4, 2x6).
Earlier, Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad ’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired spectacularly as he and his team put on an extremely mediocre show with the bat, surrendering their wickets to Mumbai’s three-pacer trio of Mohit Avasthi (3-31), Shardul Thakur (2-51) and Royston Dias (2-32), who came in for off-spinner Himanshu Singh, as the ball moved around a bit. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (three for seven in just 6.4 overs) then cleaned up the tail, ending Maharashtra’s misery on a pitch which had no demons at all.
One of the biggest disappointments in Maharashtra’s pathetic batting show was Gaikwad, who was dismissed for a two-ball duck just four balls into the match, edging a ball to Mhatre at gully off Thakur. While he started the Ranji Trophy season brightly, scoring 82 against Jammu & Kashmir in the last match at Srinagar while batting at No 4, the 27-year-old’s whose average this calendar year reads 30.12. When it comes to the race for the reserve opener’s spot for the Test series in Australia, the Maharashtra and Chennai Super Kings skipper seems to have lost ground for good to Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has smashed four hundreds in his last four first-class matches.
The day, though, belonged to Mhatre, as he helped Mumbai overcome the pain of a stunning defeat to Baroda in their Ranji opener this season. Punching seamer Rajvardhan Hangargekar regally through the covers and then whipping him to mid-wicket, the teenaged bat spoiled the bowler’s figures, which read 12-0-82-0 at close. He then cruised to his half-century, off 63 balls, stepping out to smash a six down the ground off Baroda left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj.
Determined to cross his previous highest score of 52, which came against Baroda in the last match, Mhatre reached his fluent hundred, which took 133 balls and contained 14 sweetly-timed fours and two sixes, in the final session with a single to third man off Hangargekar.
Sharing the joy of scoring his maiden FC hundred, Mhahtre said, “First hundred is always special. I was confident. I always try to play according to the situation. If the team needs me to stay at the wicket and control myself (from playing shots), I can’t play a silly shot and throw my wicket.”
The passion for cricket burning inside him obviously has not made him mind one bit the arduous train travel every day just to pursue his sport. “You can’t say that it was just hard work for me, because I was enjoying it thoroughly,” he said.
Batting for a fair bit with senior and vastly experienced pros Rahane and Iyer has obviously taught the youngster much about how to build an innings and partnership.
“That partnership (with Rahane) was important. We kept small targets of (scoring) five-five runs. And that helped me to build the innings. In the afternoon, the wicket was quite easy for batting, though the ball was moving a bit initially (first session). They (Rahane and Iyer) told me to keep batting the way I’ve done till now, and not think that ‘this is senior cricket, so I’ve to bat differently.’ The runs will then come automatically,” Mhatre revealed.
On Friday, at the MCA ground in BKC, on Day One of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy Group A Elite match against neighbours Maharashtra , one saw another prodigious talent, who should sparkle for a few years to come, arrive on this stage in grand style.
Playing just his third first-class match, 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre - he undertakes a 46km local train journey every day from his home in Virar at 5am for practice at the Oval Maidan at Churchgate with his grandfather (nana) - slammed a brilliant, unbeaten century (127 not out, 163, 17x4 3x6) to help Mumbai coast to 220 for three, after his team had shot out Maharashtra for just 126 in 31.4 overs in the morning session. It was the teenaged batsman’s maiden hundred in first-class cricket, in a career which promises many more.
A free-stroking, confident player, who adores Indian captain Rohit Sharma, especially due to his signature pull shot, Mhatre, clearly Mumbai's find of the season, looks good while driving the ball and attacking the spinners, but it is the pleasing way he punches the ball off the backfoot that reminds you of a certain Wasim Jaffer.
Whatever glimmer of hope of a fightback that Maharashtra had envisioned after pacer Pradeep Dadhe’s early twin strikes- Prithvi Shaw (1, lbw) and ‘keeper-bat Hardik Tamore (4, caught behind) both succumbed to him-reduced Mumbai to 24 for two, evaporated when Mhatre, who had scored a half-century (52) in the last match Mumbai, took charge, adding 99 in 146 balls for the third wicket with his captain Ajinkya Rahane (31, 64b, 5x4) and then 97 off just 125 balls in an unfinished for the fourth wicket with Shreyas Iyer (45 not out, 59b, 4x4, 2x6).
Earlier, Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad ’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired spectacularly as he and his team put on an extremely mediocre show with the bat, surrendering their wickets to Mumbai’s three-pacer trio of Mohit Avasthi (3-31), Shardul Thakur (2-51) and Royston Dias (2-32), who came in for off-spinner Himanshu Singh, as the ball moved around a bit. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (three for seven in just 6.4 overs) then cleaned up the tail, ending Maharashtra’s misery on a pitch which had no demons at all.
One of the biggest disappointments in Maharashtra’s pathetic batting show was Gaikwad, who was dismissed for a two-ball duck just four balls into the match, edging a ball to Mhatre at gully off Thakur. While he started the Ranji Trophy season brightly, scoring 82 against Jammu & Kashmir in the last match at Srinagar while batting at No 4, the 27-year-old’s whose average this calendar year reads 30.12. When it comes to the race for the reserve opener’s spot for the Test series in Australia, the Maharashtra and Chennai Super Kings skipper seems to have lost ground for good to Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has smashed four hundreds in his last four first-class matches.
The day, though, belonged to Mhatre, as he helped Mumbai overcome the pain of a stunning defeat to Baroda in their Ranji opener this season. Punching seamer Rajvardhan Hangargekar regally through the covers and then whipping him to mid-wicket, the teenaged bat spoiled the bowler’s figures, which read 12-0-82-0 at close. He then cruised to his half-century, off 63 balls, stepping out to smash a six down the ground off Baroda left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj.
Determined to cross his previous highest score of 52, which came against Baroda in the last match, Mhatre reached his fluent hundred, which took 133 balls and contained 14 sweetly-timed fours and two sixes, in the final session with a single to third man off Hangargekar.
Sharing the joy of scoring his maiden FC hundred, Mhahtre said, “First hundred is always special. I was confident. I always try to play according to the situation. If the team needs me to stay at the wicket and control myself (from playing shots), I can’t play a silly shot and throw my wicket.”
The passion for cricket burning inside him obviously has not made him mind one bit the arduous train travel every day just to pursue his sport. “You can’t say that it was just hard work for me, because I was enjoying it thoroughly,” he said.
Batting for a fair bit with senior and vastly experienced pros Rahane and Iyer has obviously taught the youngster much about how to build an innings and partnership.
“That partnership (with Rahane) was important. We kept small targets of (scoring) five-five runs. And that helped me to build the innings. In the afternoon, the wicket was quite easy for batting, though the ball was moving a bit initially (first session). They (Rahane and Iyer) told me to keep batting the way I’ve done till now, and not think that ‘this is senior cricket, so I’ve to bat differently.’ The runs will then come automatically,” Mhatre revealed.
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