WATCH: Prithvi Shaw pulls off stunning one-handed flying catch en route Mumbai’s record 725-run win
Mumbai extended their Ranji Trophy 2022 dominance, outplaying Uttarakhand by a staggering 725 runs in the second quarter-final in Alur within less than four days.
Mumbai declared their second innings at overnight 261/3, setting their opponents an mountainous 795-run victory target. Dhawal Kulkarni rattled the Uttarakhand top-order in his first spell, dismissing openers Kamal Singh and skipper Jay Gokul Bista for ducks in the third over, before sending back No. 4 Robin Bist for 3 not long after.
Spinners Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian then bagged three wickets each to skittle out the opponents for 69, with the former taking his season tally to 37 wickets, 16 clear of the next placed Maharashtra’s Satyajeet Bacchav. Mulani had earlier bagged a five-for in the first innings - his fifth of the competition - to help Mumbai bundle out Uttarakhand to a paltry 114.
The platform for the massive win was laid by the monumental first-innings show of 647/8 declared, courtesy Suved Parker’s 252 and Sarfaraz Khan 153. The latter, who now leads the run-scoring charts for the season with a whopping 704 runs from five innings, has now taken his first-class average to 80.42 - which is now only second to legendary Sir Don Bradman in the 2,000-plus runs club.
The 41-time champions and the five-time runners-up produced some outstanding moments in the field too, none better than skipper Prithvi Shaw’s brilliant slip catch on Day 3 of the game.
In Uttarakhand’s first-innings, Shaw caught Dikshanshu Negi diving full-stretched to his right off Mulani. The left-arm spinner flighted one from round the wicket, and the right-hander went for a flick across the line only to manage a thick outside edge. Shaw showed brilliant reflexes, racting instantaneously to leap towards his right to complete a one-handed catch.
Watch the dismissal here (from 4:40 minutes)
Mumbai will face Uttar Pradesh in the second semi-final at the Just Cricket Academy Ground, Bangalore from June 14.