MUMBAI: Bringing Mumbai back from the dead when they were in tatters at 50 for six, Suved Parkar (103 not out, 163b, 9x4, 4x6), who slammed a magnificent century and Shams Mulani (74 not out, 153b, 6x4) shared a brilliant, unbeaten 194-run partnership for the seventh wicket to help their team chase down 244 and pull of an incredible, thrilling four-wicket win over Karnataka on the final day of their Col CK Nayudu Trophy (for Under-25) quarterfinal against Karnataka at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Thanks to Parkar and Mulani's fabulous alliance, Mumbai are now in the semifinals, where they will play Rajasthan from next Monday. They looked to be hurtling towards a certain defeat, before Parkar, who came to bat at No 7, and Mulani, batting at No 8, rescued them with their mammoth 312-ball stand. His effort with the bat in the final innings capped off an excellent game for Mulani, who also took five wickets in each innings.
"It was a very mature knock from Suved, who's in great form currently. It was one of the best hundreds I've seen in a very long time, coming as it did on such a track on the fourth day of the match. We just tried to bat in small partnerships. In the end, what matters is that we were both not out and finished the game. I'm very happy with the character the boys showed throughout the match," Mulani told TOI from Ahmedabad.
"I would like to dedicate this win to my family, because their efforts off the field go unnoticed, and to Rudra Dhande, who unfortunately missed out on playing in this match due to an injury he suffered in the nets," added the left-arm spinner.
Parkar learnt his cricket under Dinesh Lad, who has coached the likes of India players Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur. In sizzling form, the 21-year-old has scored six hundreds in his last eight games-three in four matches in Times Shield ‘A' Division (171, 128, 191), 196 in the selection match for the Mumbai Under-25 team, 164 not out against Manipur, and now 103 not out versus Karnataka, both for the Mumbai U-25 team.
"It was an outstanding partnership between Parkar and Mulani. It wasn't easy to bat out there today. Mulani played the role of a senior player, and guided Parkar well. Both showed great temperament and character, and this is the hallmark of Mumbai cricket-turning impossible into possible," praised Mumbai Under-25 coach Rajesh Pawar.
Parkar and Mulani joined forces after Bhupen Lalwani (18), first innings centurion Divyaansh Saxena (11), Maxwell Swaminathan (1), Sylvester Dsouza (5), skipper Hardik Tamore (8) and Armaan Jaffer (0) had all returned to the pavilion.
Brief Scores: Karnataka 204 & 312 lost to Mumbai 273 & 244-6 (Suved Parkar not out 103, Shams Mulani not out 74; Rohit Kumar AC 4-90) by four wickets
