Wait till Wasim Jaffer draws stumps on his career. Wait till he adds a few more tons to his already glittering array of records. And then he’ll leave us with that searching question. Should he have played just 31 Tests? When he was 32, supposedly a time when batsmen peak, the selectors felt his best years were behind him. Now he’s 35, and probably his best years are indeed behind him. But he remains that unbending spinal column for Mumbai.

Against Vidarbha at the Wankhede yesterday, he notched up his 50th first-class ton (34th in Ranji). If not for Jaffer’s unbeaten 133 (261 balls, 393 minutes, 13 fours, one six), Mumbai wouldn’t have come anywhere close to 200, let alone 254 for eight, on the opening day.

With his Bjorn Borg-like stillness – doesn’t he also look a touch like the Swede legend with that wispy beard these days? – Jaffer steadied the innings amidst a regular slide of wickets. He had two fifty-plus stands – 64 with Abhishek Nayar and 58 with Shardul Thakur – but then run edifices are not built on small scraps.

Vidarbha quicks, Sandeep Singh (3/29) in particular, made most of the morning conditions as they made the ball to dart around. “He (Singh) doesn’t have much pace but he uses his swing and doesn’t give you easy balls to hit. He bowls to his strength and bowls patiently. He wants batsmen to make mistakes and that’s exactly what he did,” Jaffer said.

Singh rattled Mumbai early, consuming Kaustubh Pawar at point and Ajinkya Rahane at first slip. Young Siddesh Lad, who seldom appears rushed in his shot-making, promised much before driving Singh away from his body and perishing to second slip.

But it was Vidarbha’s spinners who walked away with the spoils. Not that they had to earn every wicket. Abhishek Nayar was bowled behind his legs in trying to sweep Akshay Wakhare and Aditya Tare perished attempting an injudicious, if not reckless, sweep off the same bowler’s quick off-break that was pitched on the middle-stump.

Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t have made a better gift of his wicket. Somehow he doesn’t cease to embarrass himself or those who back his talent. Mumbai’s innings had reached a point when Jaffer could have done with a hand – and Yadav was the last of the frontline batsmen. He stepped out to left-arm spinner Ravi Jangid (3/48) but the hoick ended up warming the palms of mid-off, making it 161 for six.

Jaffer termed it “a poor shot” but hoped that Surya would learn. “He (Surya) was the last of the recognised batsmen. I’m sure he’s aware of that. But he’s got potential and he’s got runs,” said Jaffer, who felt that Mumbai should have closed at something in the range of 260 for six.

Jaffer’s knock had streaks of the familiar flair but it was more businesslike as Mumbai never settled in. We didn’t quite see those withering drives through mid-off and covers, but he pierced the on-side at will.

But if this match is a preamble to India’s tour of South Africa – given the presence of Umesh Yadav and Rahane – then the script didn’t go as planned. Yadav looked rather stiff in his morning spell as Jaffer tucked him off his toes with consummate ease. Yadav’s acceleration to the wicket wasn’t to be seen, though it’s not quite cricket to be overly critical of a genuine quick bowler returning after a long layoff. The rustiness was expected but India will hope he finds his rhythm soon.

As the day wore on, it seemed strange that this was the place brimming with people for someone’s farewell Test just about 10 days back. All that remained now were desolate stands, an inert giant scoreboard and a crumpled-up India flag lying on one of the roofs. This felt like a true Ranji Trophy match.

Scoreboard: Mumbai (Ist innings) K Pawar ct A Wakhare b S Singh 3, W Jaffer not out 133, A Rahane ct H Badani b S Singh 1, S Lad c F Y Fazal b S Singh 20, A Nayar b A Wakhare 27, A Tare lbw b A Wakhare 17, S Yadav ct Umesh Yadav b R Jangid 5, S Thakur ct (sub) U Patel b R Jangid 26, Z Khan b R L Jangid 6, V Dabholkar not out 26. Extras: 1 wd, 8 b, 7 lb. Total: 254 for 8 in 89.0 overs. FoW: 4/1, (Pawar), 10/2 (Rahane), 39/3 (Lad), 103/4 (Nayar), 141/5 (Tare), 161/6 (Yadav), 219/7 (Thakur), 227/8 (Zaheer). Bowling: Sandeep Singh 19-8-29-3, Umesh Yadav 18-2-69-0, S Wagh 16-3-28-0, R Jangid 18-2-48-3, A Wakhare 17-0-65-2

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Sport> Cricket / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / by Deba Prasad Dhar / November 28th, 2013