Mumbai were trailing by 51 runs in the first innings with eight wickets in hand at stumps after bowling Punjab out for 154 runs on Day 1. Mumbai’s pacers dominated on the first day of the second round match at the Wankhede Stadium. Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Singh Sandhu claimed four wickets each while Dhawal Kulkarni chipped in with one to put Mumbai in command after Aditya Tare elected to field in their first home game of the season. Punjab’s Siddharth Kaul and Barinder Singh Sran then claimed the Mumbai openers to leave the hosts on 41 for two in the tenth over. Shrideep Mangela and Akhil Herwadkar had put together 25 runs until, Siddharth forced an edge from the latter through to the wicketkeeper to end the opening stand. Mangela, who was plodding on was the next to depart for seven; edging Sran to Gitansh Khera behind the stumps. However, Shreyas Iyer and Surya Kumar Yadav ensured that the hosts didn’t concede the advantage. The No 3 bat found an able ally in the middle-order batsman to keep Mumbai in course. Scoring at a brisk pace, Iyer reached his half-century off just 33 balls with ten boundaries and a six. The duo milked the Punjab bowlers to take the home team to the three-figure mark as they approached stumps. When play ended for the day, Iyer (61*) and Yadav (16*) had taken Mumbai to 103 for two in an unbroken 62-run partnership. Earlier, opening the bowling for the hosts, Thakur and Kulkarni kept the openers in check as Manan Vohra and Jiwanjot Singh looked to keep the scoreboard moving. With the score on 39, Sandhu, who had come in as first change claimed a one-handed return catch to send back Jiwanjot and end the opening stand. Abhishek Nayar too bent his back from the other end as Mumbai searched for breakthroughs. Vohra looked in good touch as he worked to carry the innings forward while Uday Kaul struggled to score off the pacers. Punjab had plodded to 46 when Thakur struck after being brought back into the attack. The pacer dealt a double blow in his second spell before lunch. While the opener ducked the short ball, it brushed past his glove and Tare took a good catch behind the wickets. Mandeep Singh, who then came to the crease took the aerial route and was caught by Harmeet Singh in the deep square-leg region. Yuvraj Singh then joined Uday in the middle and took the team to lunch on 69 for three. In the first over after lunch, Yuvraj drove Sandhu straight down the ground for four, but departed edging the ball to the wicket-keeper in the pacer’s next. Continuing to strike at regular intervals, Mumbai maintained a strangle hold on the game. Himanshu Chawla, who then came to the crease got off to a good start and had added 20 runs to the total at a brisk pace while Uday held on to the other end. As they looked to carry the innings forward, the No 3 bat’s first boundary off the 60th ball that he faced helped the team past the three-figure mark. However, after edging Sandhu through the slips to the fence he was run out off the next ball. Siddhesh Lad’s direct hit found him short of his crease while returning after attempting a non-existent single. In the next over, Chawla hit Thakur to point to leave the team on 102 for six. Later in the over, Khera survived as Mangela failed to hold on to the catch. However, there was no respite for Punjab as Kulkarni dismantled Siddharth’s stumps to leave Punjab wobbling on 111 for seven a bit later. Sarabjeet Ladda then joined then joined Khera in negotiating the Mumbai bowlers, who continued to hit the deck hard under the sweltering heat. The pair trudged on to take Punjab to Tea on 143 for seven. However, Sandhu claimed Ladda in the first over of the third session to end the stand for 33. The pacer forced a nick through to the wicketkeeper to send the batsman back for six. At 144 for eight Sran joined Khera in the middle. Nine runs later, Yadav took a good catch at first slip to send back Khera in Sandhu’s next over. Shardul then wrapped-up the innings with the wicket of Varun Khanna.

Brief scores: End of Day 1: Punjab 1st inn 154 all out in 57 overs (M Vohra 34, B Sandhu 4/31, S Thakur 4/47); Mumbai 1st inn 103/2 in 18 overs (S Iyer 61*, S Yadav 16*, B Sran 1/28)