A slow track in Hyderabad resulted in an attritional day’s play in which Ajit Agarkar’s hostile opening burst left Mumbai the happier side

Siddarth Ravindran in Hyderabad01-Dec-2009
ScorecardAn incisive spell from Ajit Agarkar helped restrict the hosts on the opening day in Hyderabad•ESPNcricinfo LtdIt was less than a month ago that Sachin Tendulkar slammed a majestic 175 in a one-day international at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on a batting beauty. On Tuesday as well, there was little in the surface for the bowlers, but it was a slow track that resulted in an attritional day’s play in which Ajit Agarkar’s hostile opening burst left Mumbai the happier side.Hyderabad had a jolt even before the toss after regular captain Arjun Yadav and in-form fast bowler Alfred Absolem were ruled out due to injury. Anirudh Singh, an ICL returnee, stepped in to lead the side and won an important toss, but the home side’s batsmen squandered the advantage.Hyderabad’s new opening combination, Shashank Nag and Rushi Raj, fared no better than the four others tried this season. They were rarely at ease during a probing opening spell from Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni, being squared up several times. The accuracy of the new-ball bowlers and the slow outfield combined to stifle the runs. Nag was the first to go, popping a return catch to an alert Agarkar after closing the face too early. Raj lasted a couple of overs more before he was lbw shouldering arms to a delivery that was heading for the stumps.Mumbai had a slice of luck soon after when the umpire deemed Anirudh lbw after failing to spot the batsman gloving Aavishkar Salvi’s third delivery. Much now depended on Ambati Rayudu, and he survived Agarkar’s nine-over opening spell (2 for 17) despite feeling for the ball outsideoff several times.Rayudu and Abhinav Kumar stalled the Mumbai charge with some patient batting and started to open out towards the end of the morning session. Rayudu played some delightful drives, Abhinav stepped out to loft offspinner Ramesh Powar beyond long-on. But with 10 minutes to lunch Abhishek Nayar got the big wicket of Rayudu, the third lbw victim of the day.Agarkar returned after lunch to add another lbw scalp that left Hyderabad at 98 for 5. Syed Quadri and wicketkeeper Ibrahim Khaleel then combined to frustrate Mumbai for more than 30 overs. It was mostly dour batting with several edges past slip for four; Quadri played out 76 deliveries between his third and fourth boundary.It was one of Quadri’s rare aggressive shots that caused Mumbai most concern on the day: Rohit Sharma injured his left shoulder while diving to stop a carve through cover, and had to head for a scan. It remains to be seen whether Mumbai’s misfiring batting will have to make do without him for the rest of the match.Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer kept attacking even with almost nothing in the track to encourage the spinners. There were rarely any men in the deep when Powar and Iqbal Abdulla were operating, and three men usually hovering for a bat-pad chance. Hyderabad had crawled to 171 for 5 off 72 overs when Powar provided the breakthrough, Khaleel also falling lbw.The entry of allrounder Amol Shinde perked up proceedings. He slapped three fours and a big six over long-on to dominate a 29-run stand before ducking into a Salvi bouncer and gloving it to the keeper.Hyderabad’s batsmen haven’t converted on their starts all season -74 is the highest score in eight innings so far – and Tuesday was no different. Four batsmen were dismissed between 23 and 35 on a placid track, leaving the side at a poor 223 for 7 at stumps. They can’t wait for the return of VVS Laxman, possibly for the final two games of the season, to help staveoff a first-ever demotion to the Plate League. The one consolation for them is that the other relegation-threatened team in their group, Himachal Pradesh, did even worse: bowled out for 197 against Punjab.There were lesser concerns for Mumbai coach, Praveen Amre, who applauded the intensity shown by his side through the day on a difficult pitch. “I would have liked two more wickets but I am satisfied as it was hard work in the middle,” he said. “Everyone put in their efforts in the field till the last over of the day though the conditions were good for batting, which is a big plus.”Another gain for Mumbai was Powar’s problem-free return from injury after a side strain had kept him out of three games. On Wednesday, if Mumbai’s top-order returns to last season’s title-winning form, there can be little for Amre to complain about.