Gujarat got off to a brilliant start as they look to chase down 312 in the fourth innings against Mumbai in a bid to lift their first Ranji Trophy title.
Priyank Panchal, who has been in top form this season, was unbeaten on 34 from just 45 deliveries as Gujarat ended day four on 47-0. His partner Samit Gohel was more conservative and is batting on eight.
Earlier in the day, a superb 91 from Abhishek Nayar helped Mumbai reach a total of 411. Nayar slammed five fours and five sixes as he batted expertly with the tail.
In fact, Mumbai’s last wicket yielded 41 runs without last man Vijay Gohil scoring a single run.
Mumbai captain Aditya Tare also made a vital contribution to his team’s cause, notching up a half-century.
Chintan Gaja was by far Gujarat’s most impressive bowler – ending the innings with six wickets to his name.
With 265 runs to win and 10 wickets in hand, Gujarat are slight favourites going into the final day but Mumbai’s total is an imposing one to chase on a fifth day pitch.
Brilliant day of cricket. Nayar, Tare led Mumbai's fightback but Gujarat has responded well. A really exciting finish on cards #RanjiTrophy
— jigar mehta (@jigsactin) January 13, 2017
BRIEF SCORES
Mumbai 228 all out [Shaw 71, Yadav 57, Gaja 2-46] and 411 all out [Nayar 91, Iyer 82, Gaja 6-121] lead Gujarat 328 [Patel 90, Juneja 77, Thakur 4-84] and 47-0 [Panchal 34*, Gohil 8*] by 264 runs.
