Punjab opener Jiwanjot Singh stepped out of the crease for a heave, then looked on in astonishment as the Mumbai swing bowler Balwinder Sandhu stretched out his right hand to pluck a catch off his own bowling at the Wankhede stadium. The fielders howled in delight closing in on their teammate.
Sandhu claimed three more wickets in his four for 31, one of his victims was Yuvraj Singh, to give the home team the upper hand in the four-day Ranji Trophy League tie.
Asked if he missed another five-wicket haul as Punjab crumbled to 154 on day one of the four-day tie, Sandhu said: “The team plan should have priority over individual performances. We went in with the intention of bowling out Punjab as early as possible. The wicket was helpful, it had bounce and I am happy to have done my bit, return to the dressing room and watch our batsmen do their work.”
The swing bowler is not a regular in the Mumbai line-up, a situation which acts as motivator. “I am aware that each time an opportunity arises, I have to keep performing to retain my place. The push helps me to keep working on my bowling. This season, the bowling coach simplified my action,” said Sandhu.
The home team took confident steps towards gaining first innings lead, boosted by the showing from bowlers, to reach 103 for two at stumps.
Sandhu, Shardul Thakur (4-47) and Dhaval Kulkarni (1-29) caused Punjab’s collapse. “I just tested the batsman’s patience by sticking to a consistent line and the movement off the track did the rest. As a team, we have to make up for a disappointing first match,” said Sandhu.
Brief scores:
Punjab 154 all out (Manan Vohra 34, Gitansh Khera 32; S Thakur 4 for 47, Balwinder Sandhu 4 form 31).
Mumbai 103 for 2 (S Iyer not out 61, S Yadav not out 16).
