Ranji Trophy: 7 years on, Akhil Herwadkar returns with statement innings to put Mumbai on top against Puducherry

Drafted into the playing XI in place of Ajinkya Rahane, who was ruled out due to a stiff back, the southpaw made a slow start on a pitch devoid of demons. His first 28 balls yielded a mere three runs, even as Musheer Khan showed composure and fluency at the other end. Maybe the nerves were jangling. Maybe he was trying to take the shine off the new ball.

But as the blazing sun shone on the pitch and Puducherry maintained standard field placements, Herwadkar grew in confidence against both pace and spin. He cover drove the quicks fluently without the fear of the ball moving late, and swept the spinners with ease to play around with the field, and along with Musheer, ensured the visiting captain Sagar Udeshi – a Mumbai lad himself – was made to regret his decision to field first after winning the toss.

From three off 28 balls, Herwadkar reached his fifty off his 129th ball. Even as Musheer hugged him and punched his right glove on his shoulder, there was a mere raise of the bat from his partner towards the dressing room.

Perhaps he felt the job was only half done, but one could sense there was relief for him and his teammates that he was coming good in Rahane’s absence. While his return had proven memorable, it wasn’t an entirely chanceless knock. Herwadkar was dropped on 23 by Paras Ratnaparkhe off Jayant Yadav, and when it seemed like he had fallen for 47, caught by Sabhay Chadha at deep fine leg off Aman Khan, replays showed that the pacer had overstepped. He was looking good to make the most of the reprieves and get to a comeback hundred, but it wasn’t to be as Udeshi had the last laugh, trapping him in front for 86.

Herdwarkar later admitted that he was a bit nervous at the start of his innings, but Musheer’s batting at the other end helped him grow in confidence. “I was a little nervous. I won’t lie. I was playing the Ranji Trophy in Mumbai after a long time. I was a little doubtful about the wicket. It looked green. But the ball was not seaming. Then the way Musheer was playing, it gave me confidence. The more I play on the wicket, the more I will get settled. That was my mindset,” he told the media later.

Composed Musheer

An often heard term in contemporary Mumbai Ranji Trophy circles is ‘crisis man’. Siddesh Lad has been labeled that for many years, and he referred to Shams Mulani as the team’s crisis man last week. If there is more than one crisis man in the current side, then Musheer has shown in the last two matches that he is Mumbai’s composed man.

Musheer Khan plays a shot in the Ranji Trophy game between Mumbai and Puducherry. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

On Sunday, the 20-year-old, batting on a surface that had fewer demons than against Himachal Pradesh at the BKC ground last week, produced a composed, well-compiled 84 off 102 balls to lay the foundation for Mumbai owning the opening day’s play. While there were several aesthetically pleasing strokes in his innings, the three straight drives off pacers Abin Mathew and Aman stood out from the rest.

The key to Musheer’s batting is how organised he looks at the crease. The right-hander has a low backlift and bats with a crouched stance, as the bowler sprints to the crease. He looks at ease while playing both pace and spin and reached his fifty with a swept four off Udeshi in the 20th over, in 46 balls. While he slowed down a touch after reaching his fifty, he ensured the Puducherry bowlers were made to toil to dislodge him from the crease, which they eventually managed to do in the 45th over.

Brief Scores: Mumbai 317/3 in 84 overs (Herwadkar 86, Musheer 84, Lad 80 not out) against Puducherry.