Zaheer pulls rug from under Mumbai

Baroda's second engagement in the Ranji Trophy zone matches this season was in November against formidable Mumbai at the familiar surroundings of the IPCL Sports Complex. It was going to be a crunch game for Zaheer Khan, turning out for his adopted state Baroda against his former team Mumbai.

Baroda inserted their opponents after winning the toss and Zaheer and Rakesh Patel launched proceedings with the new ball. Zaheer drew first blood, getting Amit Pagnis to edge one through to wicket keeper Milap Maveda for nought. Although Wasim Jaffer and Amol Mazumder struck half centuries apiece, Zaheer returned to break the back of the middle order.

At 202/3 he broke through Vinod Kambli's defences and disturbed his stumps for 32. Three overs later he dealt wicket keeper Amol Rane the same fate for ten. Zaheer was on a roll now but Mumbai withstood him until stumps to close out the day at 253/6. The next morning Paras Mhambrey was also castled by the 22 year old with the score at 279 and Zaheer terminated the innings by winning a leg before decision against No.11 Santosh Saxena.

He finished with the satisfying figures of 5/125 from 36 overs, a trifle expensive one might quibble, but as strike bowler his job was to take wickets and he'd done that to perfection. Zaheer might have been justified in thinking that his job ended there. It was now upto the batsmen to construct a fitting reply. Connor Williams made a fifty and Satyajit Parab painstakingly fought his way to 122 but the keen skirmish for the first innings lead was going down to the wire.

The ninth wicket fell at 322 and Zaheer strode into the middle late on the third evening to join fellow paceman Rakesh Patel with fourteen runs to forage for. Next day both kept their nerve to guide Baroda past Mumbai and then onward still to 364 until Zaheer was finally bowled by Nilesh Kulkarni for 24, inclusive of two boundaries. The rest of the match was an anti-climax as Mumbai surged to 228/2, Zaheer bowling just six overs. But his first five wicket haul in Ranji Trophy showed that his visit to the Australian Cricket Academy in October had paid rich dividends.