Team needed this knock’

NOVember 16: Even Paras Mhambrey didn’t expect things to go his way as a batsman at Wankhede today. The 27-year-old had every reason to be pleased after hauling his team from the rut with a heroic 111.

“I never expected this. I have always taken my batting seriously and it was just a case of applying myself…things just happened for me,” he was to say later in the day. “I had gone out to accumulate runs. Overall, it was an important knock for the team. My team needed this knock more than me.”

Mhambrey had underlined his batting abilities a fortnight ago while posting 96 in a Times Shield match against an attack comprising Ajit Agarkar, Subroto Banerjee, Sriram Kannan and Sandeep Dahad. Complimenting debutant Kannan for his resilience, Mhambrey said: “It was an excellent display. He gave me the confidence to go for the runs.”