Patel, Juneja give Gujarat handy lead

Patel played the sheet anchor role with a solid 90 off 146 balls before missing out on a deserving hundred, as Gujarat reached 291 for six at the end of the day’s play in response to Mumbai’s 228. Gujarat would now look to maximise their advantage going into day three. 

Chirag Gandhi and Rush Kalaria were batting on 17 and 16 respectively when the stumps were drawn. Having put on a solid 69run stand with Bhargav Merai (45), Patel added 120 runs for the fourth wicket with Juneja, whose 77 off 95 balls took the game away from the opposition. 

Mumbai, however, had something to cheer about in the final session where they managed to pick up three wickets including the important ones of Patel and Juneja. Gujarat, having made the final in 66 years, suffered a severe blow early in the innings by losing in-form openers Priyank Kirit Panchal and Samit Gohel cheaply, their leading run getters in the tournament. Gohel could only score four runs off 34 balls before being caught at first slip off pace spearhead Shardul Thakur.

Brief scores: Mumbai 228 vs Gujarat 291/6 in 92 overs (Parthiv Patel 90, Manprit Juneja 77; Abhishek Nayar 3/91, Shardul Thakur 2/67)