Gritty Natraj denies Mumbai outright win

MUMBAI: It was not only their bowling that lacked penetration, Mumbai's failure to grab two crucial catches also cost them dear on the fourth and final day as a resilient Odisha denied the hosts an outright win in Group A of the Ranji Trophy, at the Wankhede Stadium, on Tuesday.
Having forced Odisha to follow on and needing eight wickets, Mumbai ended up with only three as Natraj Behera, who made an aggressive 130 in the first innings, scored an unbeaten 127 (321mins; 218balls; 17x4, 3x6) in the second to help the visitors escape with a draw.Resuming on 115 for 2 – still 130 runs behind Mumbai's first innings total of 501, the visitors reached 356 for 5 when both captains decided to call the game off during the mandatory overs.
This was Natraj's third century (he made 158 against Delhi) in a week's time. And the 25-year-old had the Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer to thank for dropping his catch when he was on 61 at first slip off Pravin Tambe. Earlier, Hiken Shah failed to hold on to one from Niranjan Behera when the batsman was on 28. Natraj and Niranjan (59; 251m; 206b, 9x4) shared a 147-run stand for the third wicket which eventually put paid on Mumbai's hopes.
Mumbai, playing their last league game at home, had to be content with three points on a day when Karnataka scored a thumping win over Punjab to move to the top of the table with 26 points. Mumbai are now second with 23 and will play Karnataka next in Bangalore before meeting Gujarat ahead of the knockouts.
Jaffer couldn't hide the disappointment and admitted that the fielding only added to bowlers' woes. "The two dropped catches cost us. Had I and Hiken taken those two catches, we could have probably forced a win," he said.
He pointed to the inexperience of his bowlers for failing to make good of the big chance. "Our bowling unit is inexperienced. If you look at it, all our bowlers put together haven't played over 40 Ranji games. We need to give them time. Besides we are missing the experience of Abhishek Nayar (who is injured) as well," Jaffer added.
Jaffer also credited Natraj for his gritty show. "I haven't seen any batsman from Odisha score two hundreds in a match and he really played well. Full credit to him."
On his part, the short-statured Natraj (overnight 20 not out) was a mix of caution and aggression. He was severe on the spinners and steered Odisha to safety.