Ranji Trophy Match between Orissa and Mumbai at BKC Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty 06-11-24, Mumbai
Unbeaten hundreds from Shreyas Iyer and Siddhesh Lad, and a 92 from 20-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi summed up Mumbai’s dominance as they racked up 385 for 3 on day one of the Ranji Trophy league game against Odisha.
Iyer scored his second consecutive hundred while Lad, who had moved away to play for another state before returning after serving a cooling period, was unbeaten on 116. Angkrish, who was given a chance after the selectors dropped Prithvi Shaw, showed some spark with his 92 runs, in just his second Ranji game.
Angkrish took his time initially but once he reached his half-century, it took him just 34 further deliveries to reach his 92. But he fell, chasing a wide ball and inside-edging it on to his stumps.
He later said he wasn’t nervous even when batting in the 90’s. “I had practised hard and wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t thinking about the score, I wanted to just keep batting, the way I was batting. I just watched the ball and backed my instinct. I played a bad shot and will try not to repeat that,” he said after the game.
Hailing from a family of sportspersons— Angkrish’s father Avneesh has represented India in tennis, the younger brother Krishang is a budding tennis player who has moved to Spain to polish his skills and his uncle is former Mumbai opening batsman Sahil Kukreja. His mother is Malika, a former basketball player.
He fell in love with the game the first time he saw it on TV. When he was 11, he moved from Delhi to Mumbai and stayed with uncle Sahil. He then began to stay with his coach Abhishek Nayar, who is also the assistant coach of Indian team and was with IPL’s team KKR earlier, so that he could cut travel time in the vast city. Nayar took him to the grounds, made him play the game day in and day out, and honed his skills. He would even look after Angkrish’s diet and fitness regime.
Meanwhile, Mumbai dominated the entire proceedings courtesy their two veterans. Iyer and Lad added 231 runs in a marathon unbeaten stand which enabled Mumbai to score at the run rate of 4.27. If Lad was more calculative, Iyer was lethal in his stroke play. Initially he waited and took time, but once settling down, he treated the Odisha bowlers with disdain.
Iyer’s last ton came against Maharashtra a few weeks ago and was rested for the last game against Tripura so that he can manage his workload as he has been playing non-stop cricket for a while.
Before the season he had stated how he wanted to play more balls and spend more time at the crease rather than playing too many shots. Initially he looked to hold on but once he had settled and grew in confidence, he didn’t mind taking an aerial route.
His hundred came in just101 balls and by stumps he was batting on 152 with 18 fours and four sixes. As Iyer took the charge of scoring quick runs, Lad held his fort. He didn’t take any undue risks as he aimed for a perfect comeback to Mumbai cricket. His unbeaten 116 came off 234 balls to ensure Mumbai took total control.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai 385/3 (Shreyas Iyer 152 not out, Siddhesh Lad 116 not out, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 92) vs Odisha.
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