The writing was on the wall on the penultimate day. Then, overnight heavy rain made the last day’s proceedings of the semifinal between Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh at Just Cricket Academy a mere formality, if not a farce.
Eventually, only 16 overs were bowled, with UP part-timers rolling their arm over. The moment Shams Mulani joined Sarfaraz Khan in the half-century club, Mumbai declared its second essay at 533 for four. With less than half an hour remaining for tea, the break was called and the teams shook hands.
Despite the disappointing outing over the last five days, Uttar Pradesh had plenty to cherish from a season where it started as underdog. Mumbai, on the other hand, will go into Wednesday’s final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium with literally no chink in its armour.
