Good day for Zaheer but not for Mumbai

And Cheteshwar Pujara hogs the spotlight that much more if the setting for the scene is in his hometown of Rajkot

On most occasions,the bowlers and everyone else on the field get reduced to nothing more than part-players when he walks out to bat in a domestic game. And Cheteshwar Pujara hogs the spotlight that much more if the setting for the scene is in his hometown of Rajkot. For when the prolific right-hander sets out for plunder against his hapless opponents-which is more often than not-the bowler,the surface,and even the match situation on occasions hardly seem to matter. Nor has he seemed too bothered or flustered by many bowlers he has faced during his very successful first-class career so far.

Wednesday was different however. Pujara had to bother. It wasnt just an honest journeyman trundler or a rookie pacer that he was preparing to face when he walked out to resume his innings on the second morning at the Khanderi Stadium at Rajkot. Steaming in at full throttle was none other than Zaheer Khan.

Agreed that the left-arm pacer hadnt looked at his potent best on the first day,nor during his previous Ranji outing against Orissa. But it was still Zaheer. And a desperate Zaheer at that. Desperate to not only regain full match-fitness,but also to prove to himself above anyone else that he was indeed firing on all cylinders before taking on the Australians in their backyard.

Probably Pujara did commit the cardinal sin of playing the reputation of the bowler rather than the delivery at hand. In hindsight,the right-hander might have been better off getting into position quicker. It was no ordinary delivery either.

The second new-ball pitched just short of a length. The left-arm-over angle ensured that Pujara had to play at it. What got the better of him was the late swing though. It could have been labeled with a Zaheer Khan trademark. This was classic Zaheer. The 13 awkward overs he bowled on the first day now seemed like an aberration. And Pujara,who fell for nine,wasnt the first batsman to fall prey to the pace spearheads most dangerous weapon,getting a faint-edge for wicket-keeper Sushant Marathe to take a straightforward catch.

Zaheers first delivery of the day swung away past Pujaras leg-stump,before Saurashtras young stalwart glided the second one-a full delivery-towards the point-region for a couple of runs. That is before Mumbais spearhead produced the moment of the day by getting rid of the much-feared nemesis in the opposition camp.

Zaheer,who bowled only eight overs on Day Two,would finish the day with another wicket,uprooting Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shahs stumps after he had scored a feisty 78.

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Brief scores Saurashtra Ist Innings 580/9 decl. Bhushan Chauhan 157,Chirag Pathak 116,Jaydev Shah 78,Shitanshu Kotak 59,Ramesh Powar 4/176,Zaheer Khan 3/82 vs. Mumbai Ist Innings 19/2.