Mumbai vs Rest of India Irani Cup 2024, Day 4 LIVE Score & Updates: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the fourth day’s play of the ongoing Irani Cup 2024 match between Ranji Trophy 2023-24 champions Mumbai and the Rest of India team. The one-off match is taking place at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
On Thursday, in-form opener Abhimanyu Easwaran sent a timely reminder to the national selectors with his third successive hundred while holding the Rest of India innings together after Mumbai posted a mammoth first-innings score of 537.
Easwaran compiled an unbeaten 151 off 212 balls, and laced his innings with 12 fours and a six on the third day.
Thanks to Easwaran’s second Irani Cup hundred, RoI reached 289 for four in their first innings and reduced the deficit to 248 runs by stumps.
The 29-year-old Bengal cricketer, who finds himself in a three-way race with RoI teammates Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan to book the slot in what could be a jumbo squad as India’s reserve Test opener for the upcoming long tour of Australia, reached his century in 117 balls with a boundary off Mohit Avasthi.
This was Easwaran’s third successive first-class hundred this season and came at a time when his team needed it the most, having lost skipper Gaikwad (9) cheaply.
Sudharsan got a start but could not capitalise on it, getting dismissed after making 32 in 79 balls with the help of nine boundaries.
Devdutt Padikkal, too, failed to make a contribution of note and was sent back by pacer Mohit Avasthi for a 31-ball 16.
Ishan Kishan, the next man in, also missed out on a great chance to impress the people who matter.
The flamboyant Kishan made 38 off 60 balls before being dismissed by Avasthi, which left RoI at 228 for four.
Easwaran was involved in three useful partnerships — 87 runs for the second wicket with Sudharsan, a 70-run stand for the fourth wicket with Kishan and a 61-run association for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who was batting on 30 off 41 balls at close of play.
Easwaran, who led the India B side in the Duleep Trophy last month, finished second on the run-scoring charts with 309 runs, including two hundreds.
This was Easwaran’s fourth century of the season, which also includes a double ton against Bihar in the Ranji Trophy last February.
Playing XIs
Mumbai: Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Sarfaraz Khan, Hardik Tamore (WK), Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, M Juned Khan
Rest of India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Yash Dayal, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar
