An overcast Wednesday with a cold breeze and vehicles crawling through clogged roads, all typical Bengaluru traits, also ushered in slow-burn cricket at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. And in typical dogged fashion, Mumbai, after opting to bat against Madhya Pradesh, scored 248 for five at close on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final.
Prithvi Shaw (47) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (78) did the hard yards upfront, and Sarfaraz Khan (40 batting) held firm while the birds returned to roost at the nearby Cubbon Park. Mumbai’s steady runs and Madhya Pradesh’s persistence through a four-man attack constituted the day’s overwhelming flavour.