Irani Cup: Easwaran scores fine century as Rest of India stays in hunt against Mumbai

A fine double century from Sarfaraz Khan was met with an equally fine response by Abhimanyu Easwaran as Rest of India ended the day three of their Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai on a solid note on Thursday at Lucknow.

At the end of day two, Mumbai had scored 536/9, with Sarfaraz unbeaten at 221. On day three morning, Rest of India took quick wickets as Mukesh Kumar took Mohammed Juned's wicket to end the innings at 537.

Sarfaraz stayed unbeaten on 222 in 286 balls, with 25 fours and four sixes. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (97 in 234 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Shreyas Iyer (57 in 84 balls, with six fours and two sixes) had stabilised the innings when Mumbai was reduced to 37/3.

Tanush Kotian (64 in 124 balls, with six fours) and Shardul Thakur (36 in 59 balls, with four boundaries and a six) also delivered fine contributions. Mukesh (5/110) was the top bowler for ROI. Yash Dayal and Prasidh Krishna took two wickets each. Saransh Jain got one scalp.

ROI faced an early jolt when debutant Juned removed skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (9) in the 11th over, as he nicked the ball to Prithvi Shaw at slips. After that, the day belonged to ROI, particularly Easwaran. The Bengal opener scored a crucial century, as no other batter went past 40. Three southpaws of the middle-order, B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Ishan Kishan scored 32, 16 and 38 respectively.

Easwaran scored 151 runs in 212 balls, with 12 fours and a six. This was his third such score in the last seven first-class innings. The 29-year-old Bengal domestic star has a strong claim to secure a spot as backup opener for Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia this year in November. At the end of the day's play, the Rest of India trailed by 248 runs, with Easwaran unbeaten on 151 and keeper Dhruv Jurel unbeaten 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. (ANI)