Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad is in great form as he has now scored four first-class centuries in a row. He reached this milestone during the Ranji Trophy match against Delhi. His recent scores read 127, 170, 104, and now 103, and this run has placed him among famous Indian cricket legends.Delhi batted first in the match, and the team scored 221 runs. Opener Sanat Sangwan made a century, and no other batter could build a big score. Only three more Delhi players crossed double digits, and Mumbai pacer Mohit Avasthi took five wickets and controlled the innings.
Mumbai had a shaky start, and the team lost two wickets for 18 runs and then another at 44. Siddhesh Lad walked in at a difficult time, and he joined Musheer Khan at the crease. Both players added 63 runs together, and Musheer reached his fifty and steadied the innings. Lad was leading the side as stand-in captain because Shardul Thakur was unavailable after the mid-season break. Lad then built a strong 136-run partnership with Suved Parkar for the sixth wicket, and he brought up his fourth straight first-class hundred during this stand. Mumbai finished their first innings at 317 runs and the team secured a 96-run lead.Earlier this month, Lad had scored 104 runs against Hyderabad, and Mumbai won that match by nine wickets. Before the break he had scored 127 against Himachal Pradesh and 170 against Puducherry and both matches ended in innings victories for Mumbai. With four consecutive centuries, Lad has joined great Indian names like Vijay Merchant and Sachin Tendulkar. Parthiv Patel holds the Indian record with five centuries in a row in first-class cricket, and the world record stands at six, and it is shared by CB Fry, Don Bradman, and Mike Procter. Lad still has a chance to equal this record if his form continues.
