Mumbai's unconventional strategy nearly resulted in disaster on Monday during their pursuit of Hyderabad in Ahmedabad in the second round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The team, led by Shreyas Iyer, opted for an unusual approach by reversing their batting order. This tactic initially faltered, but Iyer eventually partnered with Tanush Kotian to successfully complete the chase, securing a three-wicket victory.

At the Sardar Patel Stadium B ground, where bowlers dominated the play, Mumbai chose an unorthodox path despite entering the match following a defeat against Karnataka in their tournament opener. Consequently, their top seven batsmen were Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ayush Mhatre, Hardik Tamore, Suryansh Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar, Shardul Thakur, and Kotian.

The strategy did not yield the desired results, as Mumbai found themselves struggling at 67 for six by the 13th over, with the newly arranged middle order contributing a mere 11 runs, which included two players dismissed for a duck.

How Ashwin's India replacement helped Mumbai escape another loss

Following the dismissal of Shardul Thakur without scoring, Suryakumar Yadav entered the match at No. 8, with Iyer (9) and Shivam Dube (10) still waiting for their opportunity. Earlier in the day, Kotian had replaced Ashwin in the Indian Test squad for the final two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and formed a 38-run partnership with the Indian T20I captain before Iyer came to Mumbai's aid.

The Mumbai captain delivered an impressive performance, hitting four boundaries and three sixes in his unbeaten 20-ball innings of 44, while contributing to a 70-run partnership with Kotian, which enabled Mumbai to complete the chase in 25.2 overs. The 26-year-old all-rounder scored 39 runs off 37 balls, including six boundaries.

Mumbai's next match is scheduled against Arunachal Pradesh at the Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Brief score: Hyderabad 169 in 38.1 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 64, Aravelly Avinash 52; Atharva Ankolekar 4/55, Tanush Kotian 2/38, Ayush Mhatre 3/17) lost to Mumbai 175/7 in 25.2 overs (Tanush Kotian 39*, Shreyas Iyer 44*; Saranu Nishanth 3/42, Mohammad Muddasir 2/55) by 3 wickets.

Read Also: Ashwin Clarifies: No Kisses in the Dressing Room

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON!