A veteran struggling to revive his career and a youngster rapidly establishing his claim for a middle-order berth in the Indian Test team combined beautifully to script Mumbai’s fightback against defending champions Saurashtra on day one of their Ranji Trophy match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Rescuing Mumbai from a point where Saurashtra looked to be all over them after reducing them to 44 for three, Ajinkya Rahane (108 not out, 250b, 14x4, 2x6) and Sarfaraz Khan slammed superb centuries (121 not out, 219b, 15x4, 2x6), adding 219 for their fourth wicket alliance in 448 balls to take the 41-time champs to 263 for three by stumps. If the first hour was won by Saurashtra, in which their captain Jaydev Unadkat took Mumbai skipper Prithvi Shaw’s scalp, Rahane and Sarfaraz’s magnificent knocks ensured that the day belonged to Mumbai.
