Mumbai: A year can make a huge difference in the growth of a cricketer.
In December 2022, a then 17-year-old Musheer Khan made a forgettable Ranji Trophy debut, making 12 & 23 while batting at No 6 as Mumbai lost to Saurashtra by 48 runs on a turner at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in BKC. In fact, after he scored just 96 runs in three matches at 19.20, Musheer was dropped for Mumbai’s final Ranji Trophy match of the season, as many felt he needed some time to mature.
Cut to February 23.On Day One of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda at the same venue, Musheer, now 18 and a lot more confident, came of age, putting that false start to his First-Class career on the backburner.
Batting at No 3, Musheer, battling the challenge of a red-soil pitch on which experienced left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt (four for 82 in 29 overs) was making the ball hiss around in the first session itself, rescued Mumbai from 90 for four, scoring his maiden First-Class century (128 not out, 216b, 10×4).
While it’s clear that the young turk was feeding off the confidence of his successful show for India in the recent Under-19 World Cup in South Africa (360 runs in seven matches at 60.00, with two centuries and one fifty), what was admirable to see was the smooth transition he made from 50-overs to red ball cricket, as he churned out a perfect illustration of Mumbai’s gritty brand of cricket in an innings which involved tonnes of patience, solid defence against the spinning ball (he played 124 dot balls), and perfect strike rotation (he took 76 singles).
The credit for Mumbai stonewalling Baroda for almost two sessions, though, must also go to Musheer’s partner in an unbeaten 106-run stand for the sixth wicket, ’keeper-bat Hardik Tamore, who stood firm at the other end with a dogged 30 not out off 163 balls. The Musheer-Tamore partnership, which has so far lasted 276 balls and transformed the course of the day’s play, saw Mumbai finish at a strong 248 for five.
After choosing to bat first, Mumbai looked to be in a spot of bother when, Shaw and Bhupen Lalwani (19), who had put on 57 for the opening wicket, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (3) and allrounder Shams Mulani (6), and then Shedge perished in quick time. Suffering his latest failure, Rahane lost his off-stump to Bhatt as the ball spun across the struggling batsman, who was looking to play on the on-side. In six Ranji Trophy matches this season, Rahane has managed to score just 115 runs@ 14.37.
Batting here was easier, says Musheer
Later talking to the reporters, Musheer said that after batting on the bouncy track of South Africa, he was finding it “slightly easier” to bat in Mumbai.
“There was a lot of swing and bounce in South Africa and I got good experience of it. But it felt slightly easier batting here in Mumbai. I look to play straight, and I know if I do that, it would be difficult to get me out since I have confidence in my defence,” he said.
Mumbai players wear black armbands
As a mark of respect for former MCA president Manohar Joshi, who passed away on Friday, and well-known local coach Hemant Hadkar, who expired on Thursday, Mumbai’s players observed a two-minute silence and sported black armbands.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 248/5 in 90 overs (Prithvi Shaw 33, Musheer Khan 128*, Hardik Tamore 30*; Bhargav Bhatt 4/82) vs Baroda. Vidarbha 261/3 in 86 overs (Atharva Taide 109, Yash Rathod 93; Vasuki Koushik 1/31) vs Karnataka. Madhya Pradesh 234/9 in 81 overs (Yash Dubey 64, Himanshu Mantri 49, Saransh Jain 41*; Nithish Kumar Reddy 3/50, KV Sasikanth 4/37) vs Andhra. Saurashtra 183 in 77.1 overs (Harvik Desai 83; R Sai Kishore 5/66) lead Tamil Nadu 23/1 in 10 overs (Narayan Jagadeesan 12; Chirag Jani 1/4) by 160 runs
In December 2022, a then 17-year-old Musheer Khan made a forgettable Ranji Trophy debut, making 12 & 23 while batting at No 6 as Mumbai lost to Saurashtra by 48 runs on a turner at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in BKC. In fact, after he scored just 96 runs in three matches at 19.20, Musheer was dropped for Mumbai’s final Ranji Trophy match of the season, as many felt he needed some time to mature.
Cut to February 23.On Day One of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda at the same venue, Musheer, now 18 and a lot more confident, came of age, putting that false start to his First-Class career on the backburner.
Batting at No 3, Musheer, battling the challenge of a red-soil pitch on which experienced left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt (four for 82 in 29 overs) was making the ball hiss around in the first session itself, rescued Mumbai from 90 for four, scoring his maiden First-Class century (128 not out, 216b, 10×4).
While it’s clear that the young turk was feeding off the confidence of his successful show for India in the recent Under-19 World Cup in South Africa (360 runs in seven matches at 60.00, with two centuries and one fifty), what was admirable to see was the smooth transition he made from 50-overs to red ball cricket, as he churned out a perfect illustration of Mumbai’s gritty brand of cricket in an innings which involved tonnes of patience, solid defence against the spinning ball (he played 124 dot balls), and perfect strike rotation (he took 76 singles).
The credit for Mumbai stonewalling Baroda for almost two sessions, though, must also go to Musheer’s partner in an unbeaten 106-run stand for the sixth wicket, ’keeper-bat Hardik Tamore, who stood firm at the other end with a dogged 30 not out off 163 balls. The Musheer-Tamore partnership, which has so far lasted 276 balls and transformed the course of the day’s play, saw Mumbai finish at a strong 248 for five.
After choosing to bat first, Mumbai looked to be in a spot of bother when, Shaw and Bhupen Lalwani (19), who had put on 57 for the opening wicket, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (3) and allrounder Shams Mulani (6), and then Shedge perished in quick time. Suffering his latest failure, Rahane lost his off-stump to Bhatt as the ball spun across the struggling batsman, who was looking to play on the on-side. In six Ranji Trophy matches this season, Rahane has managed to score just 115 runs@ 14.37.
Batting here was easier, says Musheer
Later talking to the reporters, Musheer said that after batting on the bouncy track of South Africa, he was finding it “slightly easier” to bat in Mumbai.
“There was a lot of swing and bounce in South Africa and I got good experience of it. But it felt slightly easier batting here in Mumbai. I look to play straight, and I know if I do that, it would be difficult to get me out since I have confidence in my defence,” he said.
Mumbai players wear black armbands
As a mark of respect for former MCA president Manohar Joshi, who passed away on Friday, and well-known local coach Hemant Hadkar, who expired on Thursday, Mumbai’s players observed a two-minute silence and sported black armbands.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 248/5 in 90 overs (Prithvi Shaw 33, Musheer Khan 128*, Hardik Tamore 30*; Bhargav Bhatt 4/82) vs Baroda. Vidarbha 261/3 in 86 overs (Atharva Taide 109, Yash Rathod 93; Vasuki Koushik 1/31) vs Karnataka. Madhya Pradesh 234/9 in 81 overs (Yash Dubey 64, Himanshu Mantri 49, Saransh Jain 41*; Nithish Kumar Reddy 3/50, KV Sasikanth 4/37) vs Andhra. Saurashtra 183 in 77.1 overs (Harvik Desai 83; R Sai Kishore 5/66) lead Tamil Nadu 23/1 in 10 overs (Narayan Jagadeesan 12; Chirag Jani 1/4) by 160 runs