50th hundred,nth rescue: Wasim Jaffer answers Mumbai8217;s SOS against Vidarbha

Jaffer scored a battling century to take Mumbai to stumps at a reasonable 254/8.

In the last few years,Wasim Jaffer has seen the emergence of a bunch of explosive and talented batsmen around him. While the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar have ended up attracting the attention of the national selectors,Kaustubh Pawar and Aditya Tare have established themselves as the Gen Next of Mumbai batting.

Jaffer,though,has remained the one constant nonplussed and almost oblivious to the changes that have occured around him. Many who started off with him and some even after him have since moved on. But the elegant opener has continued on as Mumbai crickets most dependable talisman.

On Thursday at the c,the defending Ranji Trophy champions had batted themselves into a muddle and looked set to be humbled against an under-rated Vidarbha side. Yet another SOS call for Jaffer to bail them out. And once more,for the umpteenth time,the former skipper did not let them down,scoring a battling century to take Mumbai to stumps at a reasonable 254/8 after they had sunk to 141/5 at one stage. Jaffer finished the day unbeaten on 133,his 50th first-class ton,and one that came at a time when Mumbai required it the most.

While Jaffer led the way with his graceful blade,the day though belonged to the underdogs. Going into the contest,their first as a team at the Wankhede,there had been certain fears that the Vidarbha players might get a tad overawed. If anything their maiden outing at the high-profile venue only ended up inspiring them. Or so it seemed as 32-year-old Sandeep Singh ripped through the Mumbai top-order after skipper Shalabh Shrivastava won the toss and elected to field.

Been there,done that

Singh has been around for 13 years in domestic cricket,and hes spent a majority of them wheeling away in obscure venues and far away from the spotlight. Bereft of genuine pace and reliant more on moving the new-ball,with hardly much menace to boot. But on the opening morning here,he had the Mumbai batsmen at his command,and he had the hosts on the ropes,leaving them tottering at 39/3. Opener Pawar was his first victim,caught at point while attempting a loose drive away from the body. Rahane and Siddesh Lad followed in similar fashion,dismissed while chasing deliveries

that left them late.

To his credit,Singh stuck to a similar game-plan to Jaffer,but not once did he manage to tempt him into a loose shot. In fact,the Mumbai veteran seemed content on letting them pass through. The South Africa-bound Umesh Yadav though had other ideas in mind. And he tried to test the aging Jaffers reflexes with a series of pacy short-pitched deliveries but had little effect on him.

Yadav was relentless but so was Jaffer as he punished a length delivery by whipping it through mid-wicket before playing a classy hook to take himself within five runs of a century.

Story continues below this ad

A few did threaten to give him company at the other end,but except Nayar with whom he added 64 for the fourth wicket,the rest didnt hang around for long enough. Tare fell to an ill-timed sweep,and Suryakumar Yadav to a forgetabble hoick off spinner Ravi Jangid that only traveled as far as Yadavs hands at mid-off. Jangid snared a couple more.

But despite the constant coming and going at the other end,Jaffer cruised along,and the century was brought up with a typically fluent flick off the back-foot towards square-leg. The celebration was muted. Just the customary lifting of the bat and the helmet. After all it was only another day in the office for Jaffer. One where he had lifted Mumbai from the mire and ushered them towards safety.

Brief scores: Mumbai 254 for eight in 89 overs W Jaffer batting 133,A Nayar 27,S Thakur 26; S Singh 3/29,R Jangid 3/48,A Wakhare 2/65 vs Vidarbha