Tuesday’s second day of the quarter-final encounter between Mumbai and Uttarakhand saw Suved Parkar smash his maiden career double century, pummeling Uttarakhand spinners into submission. For the eight declared, Mumbai scored a whopping 647. Parkar’s 252 and Sarfaraz Khan’s 153 put the reigning Ranji Trophy winners in command.
With two wickets remaining, Uttarakhand was 39-2 in reply to the loss of Jay Bista (0) and Mayank Mishra (0 run). Both Kamal Singh (27 not out) and Kunal Chandela (8 runs) remained in the game and continued to hold down the fort till the final whistle. Uttarakhand is currently behind Mumbai by 608 runs, so they have a long road ahead.
It was the 12th double century in a Ranji Trophy first innings for an Indian batsman for Parkar. Swapnil Singh’s long off-the-ball flick was the critical ingredient in this success. His 252 is the fifth-highest first-class score ever and the fourth-highest first-class score ever by an Indian player. Amol Mazumdar, a Mumbai coach who made his Ranji debut with a score of 260, before him.
The overnight score of 104 not out was restored by Parkar’s 21 fours and four maximums in his epic 447-ball innings. Parkar faced 447 balls in his long inning. He didn’t allow any Uttarakhand bowlers a chance to bowl throughout his innings. Sarfaraz achieved his sixth first-class century after beginning the day with a score of 69.
When Sarfaraz and Parkar had a remarkable 267-run fourth-wicket stand, Sarfaraz lost his wicket to a daring sweep off the Mayank Mishra (1/120 runs), who had earlier shone with his footwork. He hit 14 boundaries and 4 sixes in his aggressive innings, which helped him to keep his first-class cricket fantasy run alive.
Shivam Khurana saved Aditya Tare, who had only one run on the board, with a fine catch from Agrim Tiwari. As a result, the run did not contribute to the total. Then, Parkar found a capable ally in all-rounder Shams Mulani, who executed his duty to perfection by scoring a critical 59 runs throughout the match.
Mulani and Parkar added 106 runs to the tally after the sixth wicket fell, and Mumbai became the first team to reach 500 runs with their partnership. Before Kamal Singh’s dismissal, Mulani had hit six boundaries and three sixes.
Tanush Kotian (28 runs), Tushar Deshpande (20 not out), and Kunal Chandela contributed to Parkar’s eventual demise, which resulted from a straight hit. Prithvi Shaw, the Mumbai captain, declared the innings over when Parkar was dismissed. Deepak Dhapola, a medium-pacer, was Uttarakhand’s best bowler, finishing with 3/89 runs.