The Irani Cup got underway in Lucknow on Tuesday, October 1. Here are the latest updates from day three of the one-off final.
At the end of day two, Mumbai had racked up 536-9, courtesy a superb unbeaten double century from Sarfaraz Khan, who also moved into third place for the best first-class batting averages of all time.
On the morning of day three, Rest of India managed to wrap up the innings swiftly as Mukesh Kumar knocked over Mohammad Juned Khan's off stump to pick up his fifth wicket and bowl Mumbai out for 537. Sarfaraz remained unbeaten on 222.
RoI were then rocked early as the debutant Juned induced an edge from skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 11th over, and Prithvi Shaw completed a regulation catch in the slips to send him back for just nine. But thereafter, the day largely belonged to the batters, or rather, one in particular – Abhimanyu Easwaran.
The Bengal opener scored a crucial century to hold his side together as no other batter managed to go past 40. The three southpaws in the RoI middle-order; B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Ishan Kishan departed for 32, 16 and 38 respectively.
Easwaran went past 150 in the evening session, his third such score in his last seven first-class innings. The 29-year-old is now perhaps staking a strong claim to a spot in the India squad as the backup opener for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.
At the close of play, Rest of India trailed by 248 runs, with Easwaran unbeaten on 151 and keeper Dhruv Jurel not out on 30.
Irani Cup 2024, Mumbai v Rest of India, Day 3 Brief scores:
Mumbai 537 (Sarfaraz Khan 222*, Mukesh Kumar 5-110) v Rest of India 289-4 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 151*, Mohit Avasthi 2-66). Rest of India trail by 248 runs.
Get the full scorecard of the match here.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
