Sachin Tendulkar and opener Wasim Jaffer hit contrasting century knocks
to help hosts Mumbai manage a respectable score against Bengal on the opening
day of the Ranji Trophy cricket final here today.
Resting on the duo's efforts, Mumbai recovered from a poor
start to end the day at 281 for five with Rohit Sharma and Abhishek
Nair at the crease at the Wankhede Stadium.
Turning out for Mumbai after a lengthy gap, Sachin, who was
a picture of confidence and was extremely sure of his footwork, came up with
an aggressive 105 studded with 19 boundaries.
Adopting a different route but in an assured manner, Jaffer
(112) grafted his way through as he stitched a valuable 187-run partnership
for the third wicket with Tendulkar to put Mumbai in a healthy position.
However, credit to Bengal, who came back pretty well in the
final session where they took two wickets and denied the home side from completely
seizing the initiative.
Ranadeb Bose justified his captain Deep Dasgupta's decision
to bowl with two early wickets in an impressive spell.
Following the early success and with the wicket having something
for the bowlers, Bengal at that stage, would have hoped to make further dent
in the hosts' batting line-up.
But, after seeing off the threat of Ranadeb and having gauged
the pace and bounce of the wicket, Tendulkar and Jaffer played with authority
as the innings progressed.
Not afraid to play on the up, Tendulkar was fluent with his
drives down the ground during his 113-ball knock.
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