Ranji Trophy: Shreyas Iyer’s double ton puts Mumbai in command against Odisha
Shreyas Iyer’s career-best 233 powered Mumbai to 602/4, before they reduced Odisha to 146/5 on day two.
Iyer and Lad Power Mumbai to Record Fourth-Wicket Partnership in Ranji Trophy
Mumbai’s batsmen filled their boots with Iyer, who started the day on 152, adding 81 to his personal score. His overnight partner Siddhesh Lad, who resumed on 116, remained unbeaten on 169.
A new Mumbai Ranji Trophy record was set by the duo, as they accumulated 354 runs for the fourth wicket, surpassing the previous record of 342 set by Rohit Sharma and Sushant Marathe.
Iyer played aggressively to reach his third double century in 201 balls, while Lad took a more cautious approach.
He was stumped by Aasirwad Swain off Harshit Rathod after scoring 24 fours and 9 sixes.
The double ton comes at a time when Iyer is looking to regain his old touch. Lad was delighted with his partner’s innings and approach.
“He plays positive cricket and loves to go after the bowlers,” Lad said.
If Iyer is trying to make a comeback to the Test side, till a few months ago, Lad wasn’t sure about his future in the game. Two years ago, he had moved to Goa as a professional player, playing there for a season before returning.
As per Mumbai Cricket Association policy, such players have to undergo a one-year cooling-off period before being considered again for the state team. In those two years, Lad says, he lacked motivation.
Lad’s patient knock anchors Mumbai as Odisha struggles in reply.
“In June last year, I didn’t know how things would go. The motivation was lacking. In the last two years, I didn’t have any great knocks, and had undergone a hernia surgery. There were a lot of things running in my mind and then the off-season camp happened. My team management gave me a push, we used to practise from 6:20 am to 6:20 pm.
Post 30, the body doesn’t remain the same, so the team’s support staff had a different training programme for me which I followed,” Lad recalls.
His unbeaten 169 against Odisha came off 337 balls and he never looked in a hurry to attack. With Iyer scoring at a brsk rate, Lad took over the anchor’s role.
His cameo included six sixes and seven fours.
Odisha were in trouble from the start of their innings as Swastik Samal played on to Shardul Thakur for a duck.
Mumbai spinners Shams Mulani and Himanshu Singh took two wickets each as Odisha ended the day trailing by 456 runs and staring at an uphill battle over the next two days.
