Remembering batting records have always been big in Mumbai be it a man in the maidan or the Master himself,memorable feats sit conveniently on their finger tips. So when Rohit Sharma,unbeaten on 77 at tea,met Sachin Tendulkar in the dressing room,he was reminded of the importance of scoring 23 more runs. Tendulkar had scored centuries in both innings of a Ranji final in the 1994-95 season and he wanted another Mumbai player to repeat his feat. Sharma didnt disappoint as he followed his 141 in the first innings with a 108 on Thursday. He was the second centurion of the day after opener Vinayak Samant (113). If UP were pushed to the ropes by Zaheer Khans seven-wicket haul on Wednesday,the Sharma-Samant one-two delivered the knock-out punch on the fourth day of the match. Cricket doesnt have a referee stopped the contest option,but now that UP have been set a fourth-innings target of 525,the final day will mostly be spent waiting for the 38th title. Making up Besides sealing the Mumbai win,Sharma also made a point on Thursday. His first-innings 141 had led to few toasts about his grace and unhurried approach and more mentions of dropped catches and run-out misses. The 20-year-old isnt a 1,000-runs-per-season kind of player but he proved once again in his second innings that he is someone who can play match-defining knocks. Apart from his first-innings ton,which came with Mumbai struggling at 55/4,earlier in the year he had played a back-to-the-wall innings in the Challenger Trophy to take his team to the final. Talking about this knack,Sharma said later: When Im playing big matches,somehow my confidence level rises and I become more focused. Though not severe as the first innings,Mumbai did have a crisis of sorts on Thursday. After a fine start by Samant and Wasim Jaffer (85),wickets fell in a heap. Of the nine batsmen who followed the opening pair,six managed only single-digit scores and two others didnt cross 20. Sharma was the lone man standing tall in the middle of the late-order mess. Sachin fails Disappointment was in store for the many who expected fireworks from Tendulkar. They had to be content with one square-cut that raced to the fence,and the duck in the first inning was followed by a four in the second. But Sharma,at the other end,was doing all he could to keep the crowds entertained. The purists appreciated his sublime flicks and carpet cover-drives but it was his slog-sweep off Chawla that was the days most popular stroke. What made things easy for Sharma was that two of UPs most experienced pacemen were missing from action as injury and fatigue forced RP Singh and Praveen Kumar to stay in the dressing room. Hyderabad is without doubt Sharmas favourite ground but there is also a not-too-pleasant memory associated with the venue for him. Earlier this year,when playing the Board Presidents XI game,he was told that hed been dropped from the Test squad. He went on to score a ton in that match against Australia and now has two more centuries at the Uppal Stadium. With his performance in the Ranji final,the race to the Team India middle-order may have just become more interesting.
