5 min readMumbaiJan 24, 2025 09:17 AM IST
First published on: Jan 23, 2025 at 06:29 PM IST
What’s bad time in cricket? Ask Rohit Sharma. It was suburban Mumbai but it felt like Melbourne. When the ball from Umar Nazir landed outside off, a touch back of length, Rohit Sharma hopped up on his feet, just like he had done to Pat Cummins in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test in Australia. The result was the same. The ball shaped ever so away from him, and Rohit tried a half-hearted pull, trying to drag the ball across the line, and the leading edge was swallowed at mid-off.
The only difference between MCG and Bandra BKC were the reactions to the dismissal: Australians exploded in understandable joy, Jammu & Kashmir players, in particular the bowler Nazir, were more restrained. “I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma and that is why I didn’t celebrate after taking his wicket today,” Nazir would say later. When Rohit walked out to bat, the spectators shouted out the chant: ‘Mumbai ka Raja, Rohit Sharma!’ But he made just 3 and in his 19- ball stay, he had struggled like a rookie batsman, unable to find his touch.
The crowd had already received their first disappointment of the day when Yashasvi Jaiswal was trapped in front by a skidding angler from round the stumps by Auqib Nabi. It was a simple set-up: a couple of deliveries bent away before that one came in to get Jaiswal, who had retreated well inside the crease and caught plumb in front.
With the ball moving around a touch, none of the Mumbai top order showed any fight. Their captain Ajinkya Rahane too fell to a loose drive, playing all around a full ball from Nazir that shaped in through the bat and pad gap to castle the stumps. Shivam Dube doesn’t quite have the game, as yet, to last in these conditions against the red ball and unsurprisingly, he poked a delivery cutting away from him to the wicketkeeper. Hardik Tamore, the wicketkeeper batsman, too was trapped in front by Nazir; he was shaping to play a ball on the middle stump to the on side but was surprised by the straightener and missed it completely.
Shreyas Iyer was the last specialist batsman standing, and he started with a first-ball six over long-off off Nazir. He didn’t last too long either, though, it seems he is trying out a new technique. He stood in a open-stance, and even his head position was almost facing mid-on and the bat held almost towards point. J&K had a slightly deep mid-on for him and he fell right into the trap trying to heave a full delivery wider but instead miscuing it straight to that fielder.
Mumbai were gasping for breath at 47 for 7 when their man for crisis Shardul Thakur yet again bailed them out with a fine fifty. A crisply-clean striker who plays orthodox shots, Thakur kept going for them whenever he seized the opportunity. Punches and drives flew and giving him company was equally adventurous Tanush Kotian.
Nabi got Kotian just after lunch while Mohit Awasthi was trapped by Yudhvir. Thakur went on to score 51; his knock was studded with a six and five fours. He was the last man to fall, caught at long on but found Nazir as Yudhvir found his fourth wicket as Mumbai were all out for 120.
In reply, the visitors too lost their opener Vivrant Sharma cheaply as he was caught behind off pacer Awasthi. Veteran Shubham Khajuria and Yawer Hassan added 39 runs stand for second wicket before Dube induced a nick from Hasan. Abdul Samad looked positive but he fell on 19, edging Thakur to the wicket-keeper.
Khajuria used all his experience to tackle Mumbai attack. His 53 had three sixes and four fours before he was bowled by the left-arm spinner Shams Mulani. One over later, Mulani got wicket-keeper batsman Kanhaiya Wadhwan trapped in front to give Mumbai a chance for even a lead. But Abid Mushtaq struck a breezy 44, with two sixes and six fours, to help J&K secure the first innings lead before he was given LBW off Avasthi. One ball later, tailender Aquib Nabi hit straight to mid-on to hand Avasthi his second wicket in three deliveries.
At stumps, J&K were 174 for 7 as the visitors took 52 runs first innings lead on the day where 17 wickets fell. And on the day when some reputations bit the dust.
Rohit Sharma at the Ranji match in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) 
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