Shamik Chakrabarty in Mumbai
On the face of it, Musheer Khan’s emotional celebration seemed to stem from scoring a hundred in first-class cricket after a long time. But the Mumbai opener revealed the real reason at the end of the first day’s play of the Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh at the MCA Ground in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Saturday. Musheer lost his maternal uncle earlier in the day. His world was submerged in grief, yet the 20-year-old showed real character to help his team recover from a precarious position.
“My mother’s brother died this morning, so I was feeling very sad,” he told reporters. “I have been with him since childhood. I have played in his lap. So I was feeling a little weird. I was very emotional after hitting the hundred. I cried a little.”
Last year, Musheer suffered a car accident on the outskirts of Lucknow that sidelined him for the entire season. This term, as an opener, he started off with a duck against Jammu and Kashmir. He needed time to find his rhythm, and the half-century (63) he scored in the second innings against Rajasthan showed signs of things falling into place. With Yashasvi Jaiswal toying with the bowling on his way to a 174-ball 156, Musheer’s effort barely made headlines. But the dressing room took note, and that was what mattered.
Mumbai slumped to 35/3 after electing to bat first against Himachal. Ayush Mhatre and Ajinkya Rahane perished for 9 and 2 respectively, while Himanshu Singh was out for a golden duck. Musheer and Sarfaraz, brothers-in-arms, temporarily halted the visitors’ charge. The latter played an uncharacteristic innings, consuming plenty of deliveries to get his eye in. Spin was never an issue, but Sarfaraz didn’t look comfortable against Vaibhav Arora’s pace. The Himachal pacer set him up smartly before trapping him leg-before. Sarfaraz took 57 balls to score 16, but before walking back to the pavilion, he had a one-liner for his brother: “Keep playing.”
The game changed after lunch, with Musheer, in association with Siddhesh Lad, wresting the initiative in favour of the hosts. A single to mid-wicket off Aryaman Singh took Musheer to his fourth first-class century. He eventually fell to Mayank Dagar’s left-arm spin, but 112 off 162 balls was an excellent effort.
At the other end, Lad, the eternal crisis man of the side, was resplendent in his consistency. This was his second century in four matches, as he finished the day batting on 100 off 207 balls. The fifth-wicket partnership between Musheer and Lad added 157 runs to lift Mumbai into ascendancy. The hosts ended the day on 289/5.
Brief scores: Mumbai 289/5 (Musheer Khan 112, Siddhesh Lad 100*; Arpit Guleria 2/56) vs Himachal Pradesh.
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