Ranji Trophy Round-Up: Karnataka On Shaky Ground Against Punjab Despite KL Rahul's Fifty
KL Rahul made a sublime half-century but Harpreet Brar helped Punjab reduce Karnataka to 255 for six in their first innings on day two of their final Ranji Trophy Group B league fixture in Mohali on Friday.
KL Rahul made a sublime half-century but Harpreet Brar helped Punjab reduce Karnataka to 255 for six in their first innings on day two of their final Ranji Trophy Group B league fixture in Mohali on Friday. The visitors still trail Punjab by 54 runs in a game that they must win to have a shot at qualification for the knock-out stage. Punjab are virtually out of knock-out contention but they showed on Friday they are not going to exit the tournament without a fight.
Resuming the day at 303 for nine, Punjab ended with 309 all out in 92 overs. Lower-order batter and spinner Emanjot Singh Chahal was the highest scorer of Punjab's innings with a gutsy 83 off 140 balls.
Karnataka began their innings well with the seasoned opening duo of K L Rahul (59 off 87 balls) and Mayank Agarwal (46 off 64 balls) sharing a 102-run stand.
However, Karnataka's slide began with the dramatic dismissal of Agarwal, whose crisp drive was somehow pouched by Jashanpreet Singh off Emanjot at silly point. Rahul, at the other end, played delightful drives in his high quality knock. His effort also included sweeps and reverse sweeps before he was bowled by a beauty from left-arm spinner Brar, who got the ball turn just enough from leg-stump to deceive the India batter and find the middle stump.
Just like in Punjab's case, the lower-order got crucial runs for Karnataka.
Shreyas Gopal (42 batting off 124) and Vidyadhar Patil (23 batting off 56 balls) denied the opposition with an unbeaten 42-run stand. Brar's guileful effort with the ball for Punjab stood out on the day. Featuring in only his fourth first class game, the IPL regular got good purchase off the surface.
He is on the cusp of another five wicket haul, having taken a match haul of 11 in the previous game.
Harvik Desai puts Saurashtra on cusp of big win over Chandigarh
Saurashtra opener Harvik Desai is making his red hot form count. He took Saurashtra to 453 for three with an unbeaten 200 not out off 305 balls after the visitors bowled out Chandigarh for 136 on day one.
Akash, Ahmed shine as 18 wickets fall, Bengal in control vs Haryana
Table-toppers Bengal stayed on course for a sixth win of the season after bundling out hosts Haryana for 100 as 18 wickets tumbled on Day 2 of their final Ranji Trophy Group C league match in Rohtak on Friday.
At close, Bengal, who have already qualified to the quarterfinals as group toppers, were 155 for 3 with skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran holding fort with a resolute 61 off 125 balls. Bengal stretched their overall lead to 248 runs.
A loss could prove costly for Haryana, currently second with 24 points, as Uttarakhand (22) are well placed to overtake them, holding a firm edge over Assam in their final league fixture in Dehradun.
Bowling in tandem, pacer Akash Deep (5/40) and left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (5/42) wrapped up Haryana's first innings in just 31.1 overs.
Their effort came after Bengal themselves suffered a batting collapse earlier in the morning, losing their last five wickets in 12.3 overs to be bowled out for 193, having resumed at 168 for 5 overnight.
Such was the menace created by the Akash-Ahmed duo that Bengal needed only three bowlers in the innings, with Mukesh Kumar bowling just five overs.
Uttarakhand ride Chandela double ton
Left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra used his accuracy to perfection to return figures of 3/26 from 23 overs as Assam struggled to 91 for 4 after Uttarakhand declared at a commanding 460 for 7, riding on skipper Kunal Chandela's 207, his maiden first-class double century.
Assam trailed by 369 runs in Dehradun.
Eyeing an outright win to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive, Uttarakhand resumed on 279 for 3 and batted with positive intent.
Chandela, overnight 128, anchored the innings alongside Lakshya Raichandani, who made a patient 86 off 173 balls.
The pair stitched together a double-century partnership before Raichandani's dismissal.
Avneesh Sudha then chipped in with a quick 36 not out off 44 balls as Chandela opted for a sporting declaration.
Uttarakhand, placed third, could leapfrog Haryana and qualify alongside Bengal with a win.
Hingrajia slams 150
Resuming on 267 for 7 with skipper Manan Hingrajia on 98, Gujarat rode on his unbeaten 150 -- his fourth first-class century -- to post 352 all out.
In reply, Tripura responded strongly to reach 208 for 3, with two India veterans Vijay Shankar (51 batting) and Hanuma Vihari (40 batting) steadying the innings as the hosts trailed by 144 runs.
Earlier, wickets kept falling at the other end but Hingrajia stood firm, striking 18 fours and a six in his marathon 346-ball knock.
Manisankar Murasingh was the pick of the bowlers for Tripura with 4/52, while Abhijit Sarkar claimed 3/70.
Siddhesh Lad's fifth ton of season gives Mumbai upper hand against Delhi
'Crisis man' Siddhesh Lad peeled off his fifth century of the season to give Mumbai a first-innings lead against Delhi on an attritional day two of their final Group D clash in the Ranji Trophy in Mumbai on Friday.
The 33-year-old Lad hit 102 not out (178 balls, 12 fours) to record his fourth consecutive ton in Ranji Trophy as Mumbai reached 266 for five.
Lad found a stable partner in Suved Parkar (53 not out) as the two put on 130 runs unbeaten for the sixth wicket, giving back Mumbai the control after Delhi, who made 221 batting first, made inroads with regular strikes.
Lad equalled Rusi Modi and Sachin Tendulkar in hitting at least five tons in a season for Mumbai.
Lad said he does not look too far ahead even though his goal remains to play for India.
"It has always been my ultimate goal to play for the country. But right now, I am just trying to do my job. My first goal is to win Ranji Trophy over Mumbai, since I have come back from some other state and MCA has shown faith in me," Lad told reporters later.
Having played for Goa in 2022-23, Lad had rejoined Mumbai last season.
With his father Dinesh Lad being the coach of India players including Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai batter said he's always seen it as privilege and not pressure.
"It was always a privilege for me. I see it that way. Dad never personally pressurised me, even though the people outside wanted to see it," he said.
"When I was coming back to Mumbai, I didn't know if I should continue playing cricket or not. It was (my) dad's passion and he said 'you still have a lot of cricket left in you'," he said.
Coming off a fifth double century, India batter Sarfaraz Khan was expected to dominate but fell for 24, poking on one outside off to edge it behind to the Delhi 'keeper.
Sarfaraz's fell after Musheer (57) was adjudged caught behind on one down the leg. While there is no DRS in the group stage, the replays later showed a clear gap between the bat and the ball.
With Mumbai in a spot of bother at 136 for five, Lad joined forces with Parkar to thwart any further challenge that Delhi produced on a juicy red soil wicket which has consistently aided seamers.
Hyderabad, meanwhile, were ahead by 132 runs against Chhattisgarh as they reached 415 for four in the first innings. Abhirath Reddy (121) and Himateja Kodimela (125 not out) stuck their respective hundreds while Aman Rao (52) and Pragnay Reddy (52 not out) also chipped in.
Puducherry took a lead of 181 runs in the first innings as centuries from opener Neyan Kangayan (120) and Aman Khan (118) powered them to 349 after they had bowled out Rajasthan for 168.
Rajasthan reached 77 for two while trailing by a further 104 runs.
Shubham Pundir's 165 (311 balls; 19 fours and 1 six) along with fifties from Paras Dogra (52), Abdul Samad (61) and Kanhaiya Wadhawan (56 not out) put Jammu and Kashmir in complete command.
The visitors extended their lead to 219 runs in the first innings against Himachal Pradesh, who had scored 168 on Day One, reaching 387 for five.
Vidarbha lose edge against UP despite Malewar, Bhute fifties
In search of an outright win to qualify for the knockout stage, Vidarbha failed to take the upperhand against Uttar Pradesh despite half-centuries from Danish Malewar (80) and Nachiket Bhute (63) on the second day of their final Ranji Trophy Group A match in Nagpur on Friday.
After bowling out Uttar Pradesh for 237, Vidarbha too ended their first innings at the same figure after resuming at the overnight score of 33 for no loss.
Besides Malewar and Bhute, no other Vidarbha batter could make any significant contribution as right-arm pacer Shivam Mavi produced brilliant figures of 7 for 59.
At stumps, UP were 75 for 2 in their second innings with skipper Aryan Juyal (35 not out) and wicket-keeper Aaditya Sharma (25 not out) at the crease.
Andhra trail Nagaland by 99 runs in Sovima
In Sovima, Andhra were at 267 for 5 in 70 overs in their first innings at stumps on the second day in reply to Nagaland's 366.
CR Gnaneshwar was batting on 87 off 120 balls, while giving him company was KV Sasikanth 31 not out.
Abhishek Reddy made 51 off 87 at the top, while Karan Shinde (51) and skipper Ricky Bhui (46) too made contributions with the bat.
Andhra still trail Nagaland by 99 runs.
Right-arm fast bowler Vino Zhimomi (4/45) was the pick of the bowlers for Nagaland.
Earlier resuming their innings at 322 for 6, Nagaland added just 44 runs for the last four wickets before being bowled out.
Jharkhand enjoy slight edge over Odisha
Opener Shikhar Mohan made a strokeful 80 off 91 balls which was laced with 14 boundaries and one six to take Jharkhand to 244 for 6 in reply to Odisha's 282 all out in Jamshedpur.
Besides Mohan, wicket-keeper Kumar Kushagra (47), skipper Virat Singh (32) and Robin Minz (37 not out) also made useful contributions with the bat.
Right-arm fast bowler Rajesh Mohanty (2/37) picked up two wickets for Odisha.
Earlier resuming at the overnight score of 241 for 6, Odisha finished at 282 with opener Swastik Samal (79) and Govinda Poddar (64) making significant contributions.
TN make strong start in reply to Baroda's 375
Skipper Atit Sheth hit 109 off 241 balls with the help of 11 boundaries to help Baroda pile up 375 in their first innings against Tamil Nadu in Salem.
Besides Sheth, Sukirt Pandey (84) and Ninad Rathva (66) also made half centuries for Baroda after electing to bat.
Off-spinner Jeganathan Hemchudeshan (6/120) and left-arm orthodox Sai Kishore (4/90) were the wicket-takers for Tamil Nadu.
In reply, Tamil Nadu made a strong start ending at 118 for no loss at stumps on the second day.
Vimal Kumar was batting on 66 in the company of Athish SR (42 not out).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Saurashtra
KL Rahul