Testing conditions — with wind, moisture, and the sun playing hide and seek — combined with disciplined bowling from Bengal kept Mumbai on the backfoot on the opening day of the second round of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament at the IITM Chemplast Ground in Chennai on Friday.
Pacers Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel shared two wickets each as Mumbai closed the day at 224 for seven in 70 out of allotted 90 overs, with Suved Parkar top-scoring with 47.
Himanshu Singh remained unbeaten on 37 off 86 balls with Royston Dias at the other end. His resistance — a 44-run stand with Aakash Parkar (35 off 50) — helped Mumbai inch past the 200-run mark in what was otherwise an ordinary batting performance.
Earlier, despite a damp surface following morning rain that delayed the start by 90 minutes, Mumbai opted to bat. Bengal’s pacers quickly found help from the surface, which was keeping low: Ishan struck first by cleaning up captain Ayush Mhatre for nine with a nip-backer before Mukesh got Divyansh Saxena caught at first slip, leaving Mumbai tottering at 33 for two.
Bengal captain Anustup Mazumdar used one pacer from one end and a spinner from the other to keep the scoring rate in check.
Suved, though, counterattacked. He launched sixes off spinners Vikash Singh and Amir Gani during a 59-run stand with Harsh Aghav. However, his promising innings (47 off 63) was cut short when he edged pacer Saurabh Kumar Singh to the lone fielder placed at second slip.
Bengal struck again soon after. Mukesh produced a ripper — a sharp nip-backer that literally shattered Pragnesh Kanpillewar’s off stump as he shouldered arms — before Ishan returned to trap Aghav (33 off 90) in front, ensuring Mumbai never quite settled.
Published on Aug 22, 2025
