Siddhesh Lad hits back with 164 after Mumbai snub

Times Cricket Shield ‘A’ Division is turning out to be the perfect stage for those who’ve been ignored by the Mumbai selectors while picking the team for the league stage of the Ranji Trophy. On Thursday, experienced middle-order batsman Siddhesh Lad, currently snubbed by the selectors, smashed 164 (138b, 22x4, 6x6) for Indian Oil against Mumbai Customs on Day Two at the MCA ground in Kandivali. Lad added 187 in just 174 balls for the eighth wicket with Rohan Raje to help Indian Oil amass 535.

Known as the ‘Crisis Man’ of the Mumbai team due to his record of rescuing the side from tough situations , the 29-year-old has scored 4,058 runs in 61 first-class games @40.58. At the MCA ground in BKC, pacer Tushar Deshpande completed his five-wicket haul (5-67) for BPCL, but Sarvesh Damle’s 102 (118b, 15x4) helped DY Patil ‘B’ gain a 99-run lead. At the Dadaji Kondev Stadium in Thane, Suved Parkar slammed 171 (181b, 26x4) to put Jain Irrigation (317) on top against Indian Navy SCC (128 & 59-2).

A total of four centuries and two five-wicket hauls have been achieved in the past two days in the Times Shield. ‘A’ GROUP: DY Patil ‘A’ 238 vs Income-Tax Sp. & Rec.

C ‘A’ 336-8 (Gaurav Jathar 64, Abhimanyu Chauhan 59, Dhanit Raut 53*; Aniket Redkar 3-112). Indian Navy SCC 128 & 59-2 vs Jain Irrigation 317 (Suved Parkar 171, Urvesh Patel 30; Rahul Kanojiya 3-16, Nitin Tanwar 3-38). ‘B’ GROUP: Indian Oil 535 (Siddhesh Lad 164, Rohan Raje 77; Aishwarya Surve 3-67, Ankush Jaiswal 3-83) vs Mumbai Customs SC 213-4 in 51 overs (Sachin Wagh 71*, Parag Khanapurkar 57*; Aamir Gani 3-79) Indian Oil SC lead by 322 runs.