Mumbai took firm control of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Himachal Pradesh in Bilaspur on 20 October 2026, building a first-innings lead of 388 on the third day, thanks to centuries from Sarfaraz Khan and Akash Anand.
Mumbai declared their first innings at 528 for 8. Sarfaraz made 154, while wicketkeeper Akash Anand finished unbeaten on 117. The two added 210 for the fifth wicket, the partnership that shaped the innings and the match.
Himachal Pradesh had been bowled out for 140 in their first innings. Batting again, they ended the day on 144 for 3, still well short of clearing the deficit and facing a difficult task on the final day.
The platform had been laid on the second day, 19 October. Mumbai resumed on 107 for 2 and added 291 runs in 87 overs for the loss of two wickets, closing on 398 for 4. Siddhesh Lad contributed 87 during that period.
At that stage Sarfaraz was unbeaten on 139, having hit 18 fours off 213 balls, and Akash Anand was on 58 not out. The pair had put on 176 for the fifth wicket by the close, before extending the stand to 210 the next day.
Himachal's bowlers found some reward in the Mumbai innings. Abhishek Kumar took 2 for 66 and Jitender Rana took 2 for 72, as of the second day, but they could not stop the two batters from piling on runs.
With the ball, Mumbai had earlier been led by Tushar Deshpande, who took 4 for 46 in Himachal's first innings. He also claimed a five-wicket haul in Mumbai's previous game. The squad for this match was led by Siddesh Lad and included Sarfaraz, Musheer Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Suryansh Shedge and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
The match enters its final day on 21 October 2026, with Himachal resuming on 144 for 3 in their second innings. They remain far behind Mumbai's lead. Elsewhere in the same round, Tamil Nadu beat Uttarakhand by an innings and 66 runs, with R Sai Kishore taking 6 for 34 and a hat-trick in the second innings.