Hardik tonmore!

An opportunity to open the innings was presented to Mumbairsquos wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore and he grabbed it cashed in on it and celebrated it with a centuryAnd if Mumbai are on the threshold of making the Ranji Trophy semifinals through their good showing against Baroda in the quarterfinal at MCArsquos BKC ground they have Tamore to thank in abundanceldquoPrithvi and our coach Omkar Salvi asked me to open the innings Ajju bhai skipper Ajinkya Rahane asked me if I could open after keeping wickets for 110 overs I told him lsquoSir Irsquove been opening from my age group cricket days for Mumbai so Irsquom used to it I like batting in the top three Donrsquot worry Irsquoll openrsquo rdquo Tamore said after the dayrsquos play on MondayAlso Read Hardik Pandya bags two wickets for 22 runs after returning from injuryTamore 114 and Prithvi Shaw 87 guided Mumbai to 3799 at stumps on Day Four enjoying an overall lead of 415 runsTamore who started the day on his overnight score of 12 looked more confident and batted more freely as compared to his first inningsrsquo 57 He played a key role in shaping three partnershipsmdashfirst with Musheer Khan 33 of 66 runs for the third wicket 124 runs with No5 Prithvi Shaw 87 and later 69 runs with Shams Mulani for the sixth wicketTamore had batted at No 7 in the first innings and steadied the ship along with Musheer when the hosts were struggling at 1425 In the second innings he shouldered responsibility perfectly as a makeshift opener due to Shawrsquos finger injuryThird FC ton in 15 gamesTamore 27 who is playing his fourth firstclass game of the season scored his third century in 15 games the earlier threefigure knock being his 115 against Uttar Pradesh in the 202122 Ranji Trophy semifinal at BangaloreWhen Shaw was showing attacking intent Tamore didnrsquot mind playing the supporting role ldquoPrithvi urged me to do what I felt like doingmdashlsquohit the ball only when you feel itrsquos there to be hit If Irsquom looking to play my shots you donrsquot do the samersquo rdquo Tamore saidShaw was primed to get his second century of the season but got out while going for a big shot off leftarm spinner Bhargav Bhatt 7142 Shaw smashed 10 fours and two sixes during his 93ball 87Mulanirsquos allround effortMumbairsquos ace leftarm spinner Shams Mulani once again displayed his allround abilities by scoring 54 with eight fours and one six Looking for a good score skipper Ajinkya Rahane 0 survived the first ball when first slip fielder Shashwat Rawat failed to grab an edge off Bhatt However Bhatt clean bowled Rahane a few balls later when the India player attempted to play a cut shotThe contest was later reduced to Mumbai versus veteran spinner Bhatt who bowled 844 overs across both innings and claimed 14 scalpsmdashseven in each inningsBrief scoresMumbai 384 amp 3799 H Tamore 114 P Shaw 87 S Mulani 54 B Bhatt 7142 amp 211 v Baroda 348 V Solanki 136 S Rawat 124 S Mulani 4121 T Kotian 249 T Deshpande 252