Mhatre, 17, compiled his ton with a bat given by Prithvi Shaw, who had given it to him after the match against Baroda. “I had asked for his bat and he gave it to me. I scored a hundred with it today. I have known Prithvi for a long time as he too hails from Virar,” Mhatre said at the end of the day. He was unbeaten on 127 when stumps were drawn.

Mhatre’s story mirrors that of Shaw, his opening partner in this match. He would wake up daily at 4:15 am, catch the 5 am train from Virar, 46 kilometres from Mumbai downtown, to reach the famous Oval maidan for practice sessions.

On his way to joining the Mumbai team before the game, he travelled from his place by train. They had lost their season opener against Baroda, but made a strong comeback, despite losing Shaw and No 3 batsman Hardik Tamore with the total on 24.

“I was happy and confident before the game. It was important to control the shots and play the balls on their merit. When I was batting with Ajinkya (Rahane) bhai, we kept small targets, focused on the next five runs and tried to build a partnership. With Shreyas (Iyer), we were trying to rotate strike, as it was important to control the game,” said Mhatre, who hit 17 fours and three sixes.

Mumbai: Mumbai’s batter Ayush Mhatre plays a shot during the first day of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 cricket match between Mumbai and Maharashtra, at MCA Cricket Ground, Bandra Kurla Complex, in Mumbai, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)

Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil said he had watched Mhatre bat in the Kanga League and was not surprised at his early success at the Ranji level.

“At this age, he has the guts to tackle senior bowlers. At the same time, he has class and game sense. He possesses game awareness at such an early age, and also the will and hunger to succeed,” Patil said.

Rahane got out for 31 while Iyer looked good in his unbeaten 45. With a long batting line-up, Mumbai will look to put on a mammoth score and finish the game early.

In the morning, Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s decision to bat first backfired, as they were tottering at 59 for 6 at one stage. It all started when Shardul Thakur got Gaikwad on the third ball of the day as the opener went for a drive, but found Mhatre at gully. A ball later Thakur trapped Sachin Dhas in front of the stumps.

Then it was the turn of Mohit Avasthi, who had opener Siddesh Veer caught by Iyer at first slip while Maharashtra’s most experienced middle-order batsman Ankit Bawne pushed at an away-going ball to find Mhatre in gully.

After losing six batsmen cheaply, Azim Kazi (36) and Nikhil Naik (38) put on a partnership, and it took a blinder of a catch by Rahane to dismiss wicketkeeper-batsman Naik, who was taking on the Mumbai bowlers. He flashed hard at a ball which flew off a thick edge towards long off, only for Rahane to take a stunner running backwards. After the 57-run stand for the seventh wicket was broken, left-arm spinner Shams Mulani took little time to wrap up the innings.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 126 (Nikhil Naik 38, Azim Kazi 36; Shams Mulani 3/7, Mohit Awasthi 3/31) vs Mumbai 220/3 (Ayush Mhatre 127 batting, Shreyas Iyer 45 batting)