Rahane and the rest of the Mumbai frontline batters struggled in the contest. © AFP It was a typical David vs Goliath contest and the result was a huge upset that spoiled Rohit Sharma’s comeback game into the domestic circuit. Jammu and Kashmir have entered the knockouts of Ranji Trophy with the domestic powerhouse staring potentially at an early exit from the championship that they have won 42 times. It is only the second time in the history of Ranji Trophy that Jammu & Kashmir have beaten Mumbai, the previous instance being in 2014. “Let’s give credit to Jammu and Kashmir. I thought they played this game really well. They bowled consistently in tight areas, they challenged our batting line up, especially in both the innings, so credit to them. We were not up to the mark as a team, as a unit. They challenged us and they played really well, so they deserved to win. They have quite a bit of talent in the lineup, especially in fast bowling,” Ajinkya Rahane said. Their pace bowlers, Auqib Nabi, Umar Nazir and Yudhivir Singh collectively claimed 18 wickets in the match, testing the star-studded Mumbai batting line-up that included the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and Shivam Dube besides Rohit and skipper Rahane himself. Their bowlers exploited the helpful conditions better than the Mumbai bowlers. “I think this season they’ve been doing really well. We saw their videos. They have been doing really well bowling in tight areas. I thought they read conditions really well at this wicket. Frankly, we didn’t expect that ball will seam that much. We thought it would be a good wicket to bat and it will spin on day two but obviously they bowled really well,” the Mumbai skipper said. Rahane also defended Rohit and Jaiswal, who had an ordinary outing, scoring 31 and 30 runs in the game. “Rohit, Jaiswal have been playing and are coming here after a long time, playing international cricket. So it’s tough to analyse in this only one match because all the guys coming in you are quality players. One bad game can happen. I’m not too worried about what has happened.” Jammu and Kashmir are now on top of Elite Group A and have made it to the knockouts. Mumbai, in third place below Baroda, have a slim outside chance. They will play Meghalaya from January 30 at home. “There’s still one per cent chance for us to qualify. So you never know. Our main thing is to learn from this game,” Rahane signed off.
