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Jaipur: Abhinav Mukund struck an unbeaten 156 while Shikhar Dhawan (83) and S Badrinath too blossomed (72 not out) with the bat as Rest of India piled up a mammoth 331 for one against Ranji champion's Mumbai on the opening day of the Irani Trophy cricket match on Friday.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, ROI batsmen capitalised on Mumbai's sloppy fielding to end the day on a strong position.
Dhawan (83) was the lone ROI batsman to depart on Friday, caught by Iqbal Abdulla off part-time spinner Rohit Sharma, but not before stitching a 167-run opening stand with Mukund.
Dhawan hit 12 boundaries during his 140-ball stay at the crease.
But from there on, it was all Mukund who mixed caution with aggression to end the day on an unbeaten 156 that came off 279 balls and was studded with 17 fours.
After Dhawan's dismissal, Mukund found another able partner in S Badrinath, who remained unbeaten on 72. He hit seven fours during his 134-ball innings.
Mukund was of the view that the wicket at the Sawai Mann Singh stadium had nothing to offer to the bowlers.
"Mumbai bowlers tried their best but the pitch was too flat," he said.
Off-spinner Ramesh Powar was the most impressive Mumbai bowler even though he did not get any wicket.
Powar also blamed the placid pitch for Mumbai's bowlers unimpressive display.
"It (the wicket) had nothing in it. It was a big disappointment. It should have been better for such an important game," said Powar.
Brief score
Rest of India 1st Innings: 331 for one (Mukund 156*, Dhawan 83, Badrinath 72*)
