An unbeaten 87 by middle order batsman Bhavik Thakkar and his 47-run unfinished eighth-wicket partnership with Rohit Dahiya helped Gujarat beat Mumbai by three wickets in a thrilling Ranji one-day match at the SCA stadium in Khanderi, Rajkot, on Monday.
Chasing a target of 222 in 41 overs, Gujarat started off on a poor note, with Priyank Panchal (22), Jesal Kariya (17) and skipper Parthiv Patel (13) returning to the pavilion early.
Thakkar began the rescue work with Niraj Patel and the duo added 47 runs for the fourth wicket before Patel was dismissed for 37. Thakkar kept the scoreboard moving from one end but lost Sunny Patel (16), Vishwajit Solanki (2) and Rujul Bhatt (2) in quick succession.
It was at this stage that Dahiya joined him and the duo turned the tide in Gujarat's favour. Thakkar's unbeaten knock came off 84 balls with the help of ten fours and one six while Dahiya, who remained unbeaten on 19, faced 14 balls and hit two fours.
For Mumbai, leg spinner Iqbal Abdullah was the most successful bowler, taking three wickets for 36 runs, while Dhaval Kulkarni, Wilkin Mota, Avishkar Salvi and Rohit Sharma grabbed a wicket each.
Electing to bat first, Mumbai made what seemed a competitive total of 222 for 8 wickets in 41 overs, before the hosts chased it with four balls to spare.
Rohit Sharma was the top-scorer, making 59 (58b, 6X4, 2X6), while Amol Mazumdar contributed run-a-ball 45 with the help of three fours and one six.
For Gujarat, Siddharth Trivedi and Rohit Dahiya took two wickets each conceding 52 and 40 runs respectively.
Earlier, Mumbai were at 26 for one when play was halted for a brief while following uneven bounce. The match was later rescheduled and reduced to 41 overs.
Brief scores: Mumbai 222 for 8 (Rohit Sharma 59, Amol Mazumdar 45, Siddharth Trivedi 2 for 52, Rohit Dahiya 2 for 40) lost to Gujarat 225 for 7 (Bhavik Thakkar not out 87, Niraj Patel 37, Iqbal Abdullah 3 for 36).
