Ranji Trophy 2015: Tame end on a flat track
The last time there was a competitive game of cricket held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the condition of the pitch stole a great deal of attention from the eventual result. Statistically, the total of 662 runs in 86 overs during the one-day game between India and South Africa told a grim tale about the batting wicket. The main bone of contention about the pitch though was in the alleged spat between Ravi Shastri and head curator Sudhir Naik. Just over two weeks down the line, however, not much has changed in terms of the flat track groomed at the Mumbai venue.
The latest cricketing venture hosted at the stadium, the Ranji Trophy tie between hosts Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh, ended as a long and dull draw. Though the hosts did come out on top with the innings lead and the consequent three points, a lot was still said about the pitch laid up for the tie.
Going into the last day of play, 960 runs had already been piled up between the teams and only 14 wickets had been taken. The numbers themselves spoke of an excessively flat track that favoured batsmen. Mumbai, batting first, had amassed a mammoth 610 runs, losing only nine wickets, before declaring. The visitors in turn continued their overnight run chase to the last day and eventually packed up for 440 just before lunch. Still leading by 170, Mumbai enforced the follow-on.
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Uttar Pradesh lost just one wicket in their second innings as they continued to trudge along towards gaining the lead. Nonetheless, the two captains eventually decided to shake hands and call it a day before the mandatory overs started.
Just as it was the case in the Mumbai-UP game, the Wankhede track — though a batsman’s paradise, and perhaps one that entertains the crowd with shots constantly peppering the stands — isn’t a pitch that can bring about a definite result in first-class or Test matches.
Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit asserted that the way the league table has been shaping, his team cannot rely on innings-lead draws. “We definitely will expect a result oriented pitch for our next games. We are on 20 points now, but the other teams are still very close. So the next three matches will be crucial for us to get some results,” he said after the match.
One of the few tricks the pitch did play that went against its flat nature, was the fact that it convinced UP skipper Suresh Raina to opt to field first when he won the toss. A green tinge on the surface of the chosen track hinted at the availability of success for the bowling attack the visitors possessed. “It seemed to be a fresh track because of the added green. And since they had Praveen Kumar in their team, there would have been a possibility to get the ball to swing well,” Pandit added.
Still, the visitors didn’t take their chances with the pitch in terms of team selection. Left-arm orthodox spinner Saurabh Kumar, who picked up 10 wickets in his team’s last game, against Gujarat, was dropped in favour of Kuldeep Yadav. “This has always been a flat pitch, so we thought that wrist-spinners like Kuldeep would be able to be more effective in getting turn than Saurabh,” said Himanshu Asnora, who’s 92 in the first innings was his highest score in first-class cricket.
The eventual result gave Mumbai three points, owing to their first innings lead, taking them up to first place in Group B with 20 points. Meanwhile, UP took one point from the match and have a total of nine, keeping them sixth in the nine-team group.
BRIEF SCORES: Mumbai 610/9 decl. (Shreyas Iyer 137, Rohit Sharma 113) drew with Uttar Pradesh 440 all out and 140/1 (Himanshu Asnora 68 n.o, Umang Sharma 62 n.o). Points: Mumbai 3; UP 1.
