Uttar Pradesh stormed back into the match after former champions Mumbai squandered the initiative they held on Saturday, on a dramatic third day in their Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
At close, Uttar Pradesh, chasing a victory target of 214, were 39 for 1 in their second innings. They need 175 runs to win, with nine wickets in hand.
Shivakant Shukla was batting on 12 and skipper Mohd. Kaif unbeaten on 9.
Mumbai, who were 21 for no loss overnight, wiped out the 51-run deficit to lead by 213 runs after being bowled out for 264 in their second innings, 11 overs before stumps, with a defiant Vinayak Samant remaining unbeaten on 64.
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It will require an extraordinary effort from Mumbai to snatch victory, as UP are looking forward to complete the formalities on the fourth day and enter their third Ranji final.
Avishkar Salvi had opener Praveen Kumar caught by Onkar Khanvilkar, after Nishit Shetty dropped the all-rounder off Salvi's third ball of the innings, as the match was poised for an exciting finish on the penultimate day.
Requiring a challenging total in the hope of an outright victory, Mumbai's top order buckled under pressure imposed by Kaif's attacking field and brilliant bowling by medium pacer Ashish Winston Zaidi.
Zaidi bowled a tight line and length which did not allow the new batsmen to settle down and was rewarded with four wickets as Mumbai struggled at 48 for four.
Zaidi's effort overshadowed the exploits of UP wicketkeeper Amir Khan, who snapped four catches that included the overnight batsmen Sahil Kukreja and Onkar Khanvilkar.
It required the experienced Amol Muzumdar and Ramesh Powar to salvage the Mumbai innings with a 119-run partnership for the fifth wicket, as the former struck an impressive 86 that included 11 fours and Powar smashed 41 which included six boundaries.
Scorecard
Mumbai (1st innings): 199
Uttar Pradesh (1st innings): 250
Mumbai (2nd innings): overnight 21-0
Sahil Kukreja c wk Amir Khan b Zaidi 20
Onkar Khanvilkar c Amir Khan b Srivastava 15
Vinit Indulkar lbw Zaidi 0
Amol Muzumdar c Srivastava b Chawla 86
Nishit Shetty b Zaidi 9
Ramesh Powar c Amir Khan b Praveen Kumar 41
Vinayak Samant not out 64
Usman Malvi b Zaidi 6
Nilesh Kulkarni c S Shukla b Srivastava 3
Swapnil Hazare c Amir Khan b Kumar 5
Avishkar Salvi b Kumar 4
Extras: (3nb, 1w, 6b, 1lb) 11
Total: (all out) 264
Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-33, 3-38, 4-48, 5-167, 6-177, 7-214, 8-227, 9-252, 10-264.
Bowling: A.W. Zaidi 26-5-62-4, Praveen Kumar 25-4-68-3, S Srivastava 16-5-41-2, Piyush Chawla 20-2-74-1, G.K. Pandey 3-0-12-0.
Uttar Pradesh (2nd innings):
Praveen Kumar c Khanvilkar b Salvi 14
Shivakant Shukla batting 12
Mohd. Kaif batting 9
Extras: (b-4) 4
Total: (for 1 wkt) 39
Fall of wicket: 1-22.
Bowling: Avishkar Salvi 4-0-14-1, Swapnil Hazare 1-0-13-0, Nilesh Kulkarni 3-0-7-0, Ramesh Powar 1-0-1-0.
