Maiden century by Rohit Sharma propels Mumbai to 283 for five

Mumbai, Dec 25 (UNI) A chanceless maiden century by youngster Rohit Sharma (102 not out) put hosts Mumbai in a comfortable position on the opening day of their four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group 'B' match against Gujarat as they reached 283 for five at close at the Wankhede stadium here today.

Mumbai, electing to bat first, were rescued by Rohit and captain Amol Muzumdar (52) who put on 98 runs for the fourth wicket after Mumbai were struggling at 123 for three in a match which the hosts need to win, being pointless after three matches and facing the threat of relegation.

At close, Rohit with 102 and Abhishek Nair with 8 were at the crease.

The promising youngster put his head down and batted with great responsibilty along with his captain as the two slowly and surely took Mumbai to a position of safety.

The unfortunate runout of Muzumdar for 52, which came in a stay of 117 balls with five boundaries, did not deter Rohit as he gained in confidence tearing the Gujarat attack to shreds hitting paceman Hitesh Majmudar for three consecutive fours.

Rohit reached his 100 just before close with the second 50 taking just 46 balls. His century came in 145 balls with 10 hits to the fence and one over it.

Mumbai, playing on their home turf for the first time this season, were given the best start of their campaign so far with openers Sahil Kukreja and Vinayak Mane putting on 52 runs for the first wicket before Mane going for a drive got an inside edge onto his stumps of medium pacer Amit Singh. Mane made 33, studded with 4 boundaries.

Bhavin Thakker, who was the new number three for Mumbai, did not last long being bowled by off spinner Jayesh Makla for 10 with the team score on 82.

Kukreja was then joined by captain Amol Muzumdar with the opener reaching his half century just before lunch. His 50 came in 105 balls and was studded with eight boundaries.

Kukreja, however, had a lapse in concentration after lunch and was bowled for 58 by off spinner Jayesh Makla as he pushed forward only to give an easy catch to Nilesh Modi at short mid-off. His knock came in a stay of 121 balls with nine hits to the fence.

For Gujarat, off-spinner Jayesh Makla was the bowler to shine with his off spin bowling taking 2 for 79 in 24 overs.

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