Ranji Trophy 2012-13: Shukla takes four as Mumbai reach 262/7 riding on Jaffer`s 80

Mumbai: Former captain Wasim Jaffer made full use of an early reprieve to score 80 as hosts Mumbai reached 262 for seven against Bengal at stumps, on the first day of their Ranji Trophy group league match at the Brabourne Stadium.

The veteran opener got a `life` on individual score of 16 when he edged one to Arindam Das at second slip who missed a sitter off seamer Laxmi Ratan Shukla`s bowling. The team`s total was 29 at that time. Jaffer, who missed the first few matches due to his pilgrimage to Mecca bailed Mumbai out of precarious 46 for three as his 80 came off 151 balls with 14 boundaries. He added 104 runs for the fourth wicket with Abhishek Nayar (62, 129 balls, 8x4, 1x6) which was the most profitable partnership of the day. The duo took 190 balls to add the valuable runs and that too in 132 minutes. Former Bengal captain Shukla was the pick of the Bengal bowlers as he got four for 35 from 21 overs while left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena got a bit of stick for his figures of 2/101. Medium pacer Veer Pratap Singh (1/53) was the other wicket-taker but he should have got Powar out. The disappointment for Bengal was Shami Ahmed who strived for pace but couldn`t make much headaway during his 22-over spell. Apart from Jaffer-Nayar partnership, the hosts were also indebted to a 56-run stand between wicketkeeper Aditya Tare (38) and left-hander Ankit Chavan (35), to end the day on a more encouraging note after being put on the ropes by Bengal who won the toss on pitch which had fair amount of green with with good carry. Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma couldn`t build upon his impressive century against Hyderabad as he nicked one to Wriddhiman Saha off Shukla having scored only one. At stumps, Dhawal Kulkarni (24) and Ramesh Powar (1), dropped on 0 by Das at second slip, were the unbeaten batsmen. Today, when Nayar joined Jaffer after the 39-time Ranji Trophy champions had lost opener Kaustubh Pawar (15), last match`s centurion Hiken Shah (0) and skipper Rohit. Brief scores: Mumbai 262 for 7 (W Jaffer 80, A Nayar 62, A Tare 38, A Chavan 35; D Kulkarni not out 24, R Powar not out 1; L R Shukla 4 for 35; I Saxena 2 for 101). PTI