Ranji Trophy: Cheteshwar Pujara Helps Saurashtra Secure Quarters Berth With Big Win vs Manipur
Defending champions Saurashtra scored an innings and 243-run victory against Manipur to move into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals from Group A.
Saurashtra's veteran left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja bagged his 22nd five-wicket haul as the defending champions scored an innings and 243-run victory against Manipur to move into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals from Group A in Rajkot on Sunday. Saurashtra's victory was a foregone conclusion on day two itself when they had reduced Manipur to 55/3 in their second innings on Saturday, and the task was completed by the 33-year-old Jadeja, who bagged a five-for on day three as the visitors slumped to a big defeat at the Sanosara Cricket Ground.
Manipur had made 142 in the first innings batting first, and following that Saurashtra had declared their lone innings at a mammoth 529/6.
Manipur then folded up at 144 in 51.5 overs in their second essay to hand over the hosts the victory with a bonus point.
Besides Jadeja (5/55), Yuvrajsinh Dodiya (3/51) and India white-ball pacer Chetan Sakariya (2/28) too contributed the the big win.
The difference in class between Saurashtra and Manipur was all too visible from the opening day of the seventh and concluding round of the Ranji league matches.
After dismissing Manipur for a paltry 142, with Jadeja taking four wickets, Saurashtra piled up tons of runs with stand-in skipper Arpit Vasavada (148), Prerak Mankad (173) and Cheteshwar Pujara (103) scoring centuries as the home team batters declared at 529/6.
Then, Saurashtra bowlers Sakariya, Jadeja and Dodiya picked up a wicket each in the final session on Saturday to put the hosts in a commanding position.
The home team bowlers continued the good work on Sunday bagging the remaining seven wickets.
Saurashtra, with 29 points from seven games, are the only team from the Group A so far to have secured a place in the quarterfinals, while Vidarbha (27 points, six games) and Haryana (24, six games) too are in with a chance to make the grade.
A clear picture will emerge at the conclusion of the seventh round of matches on Monday.
Brief Scores: In Rajkot: Manipur 142 and 144 in 51.5 overs (Ronald Longjam 32, Bikash Singh 64 not out; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 5/55, Chetan Sakariya 2/28, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya 3/51) lost to Saurashtra 529/6 decl, by an innings and 243 runs.
In Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 188 and 269 in 76 overs (Aryaman Sen 38, Aditya Singh 72; Aniket Choudhary 3/38, Kukna Ajay Singh 3/61) lead Rajasthan 210 all out and 120 for 6 in 51 overs (Mahipal Lomror batting 30; Shahbaz Nadeem 3/46, Anukul Roy 3/26) by 127 runs.
In Delhi: Maharashtra 225 trail Services 430 for 9 in 189 overs (Shubham Rohilla 72, Vineet Dhankhar 43, Rajat Paliwal 51, Nakul Sharma 87, Arjun Sharma batting 43; Taranjitsingh Dhillon 4/129, Arshin Kulkarni 2/41) by 205 runs.
In Nagpur: Vidarbha 423 and 113 for 4 in 38.2 overs (Dhruv Shorey 43, Atharva Taide 49) lead Haryana 333 by 203 runs.
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Cheteshwar Pujara