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 vice-captain and opening batsman Ayush Mhatre has been ruled out for nearly two months after suffering a Grade 4 hamstring tear. The right-hander played in Mumbai’s opening Ranji Trophy game against Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium, where the hosts registered a convincing innings and 156-run win.Mhatre’s injury comes as a setback, especially after he had spent three months at the Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru recovering from an earlier injury.“He suffered pain while running a couple. The exact report is yet to come and how long he will be unavailable will be known later. But it is sad. He was training with us and was keen to make a good comeback this season. He is used to travelling from Virar just to train with us. He used to train with me only. He was pushing himself and was eager to do well,” Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad said after the game.Mhatre had suffered a similar hamstring injury during the IPL, which ruled him out of the tournament and competitive cricket for more than three months.Also Read | Rohit Sharma’s fan, the 17-year old Ayush Mhatre, Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener, hopes to make it bigHe took part in match simulations and played a few practice games before the Mumbai Cricket Association named him vice-captain of Mumbai for this season.Mumbai will be missing the services of Mhatre and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who will travel to New Zealand as part of the India A squad.Meanwhile, Mumbai registered a thumping win in their opening game as spinners Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian finished with three wickets each to bowl out Chandigarh for 196 on the third day. Chandigarh resumed their innings at 0/1 and were bundled out in just two sessions. Opener Arjun Azad struck 62, while middle-order batter Shiv Bhambri scored 44.Story continues below this ad“It was a very important win for us, especially as the team is new. The positive part was the way our bowlers bowled. If you want to win the tournament, our bowlers need to do well. In our first win, our bowlers stood up well, and I am very happy with how we played our cricket,” Lad said.Mumbai will also welcome Suryansh Shedge back into the team. He was part of the India A team that played the visiting Australia A side.Having spent years covering Mumbai’s local "maidan" cricket circuit, Devendra Pandey brings a unique ground-level perspective to his reporting. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:Ranji Trophy