Outright results
Siddharth Desai’s five-wicket haul set the platform for Gujarat’s comfortable victory against Odisha in Ahmedabad. Odisha started the day at 119/4 in their second innings, ahead by only four runs. Their innings ended quickly on the final day as Desai and Arzan Nagwaswalla (3-33) made regular inroads, bowling them out for 161. Needing only 47 for victory, Gujarat reached the target in 9.3 overs to register a 10-wicket win that earned them a bonus point.
Bengal made a victorious start to their Ranji Trophy campaign despite a fighting 85 from Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni. Delhi started the day at 101 for 3 and kept losing wickets regularly as they were bowled out for 277 in their second innings. Pradipta Pramanik bagged three wickets while Aamir Gani and Sumanta Gupta picked up two apiece. Needing only 89 for victory, Bengal got the job done in 15.3 overs, with Ankur Paul scoring 38 while captain Abhimanyu Easwaran stayed till the end, scoring an unbeaten 34.
Vicky Ostwal’s five-wicket haul overshadowed Arjun Sharma’s fifer as Maharashtra registered a 127-run win against Services in Delhi. Resuming their second innings at 66 for 5 on Day 4, Maharashtra were reduced to 102 for 8 before finishing with 141 thanks to Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s 43. Needing 248 for victory, Services weren’t allowed a way into the chase as Ostwal, along with Siddhesh Veer (3-27) and Hitesh Walunj (2-28), kept striking at regular intervals, eventually bowling out the opposition for 120.
Bhargav Bhatt’s five-wicket haul and Mahesh Pithiya’s four wickets expedited Baroda’s victory against Goa in Panaji as they handed the hosts a drubbing by an innings and 135 runs to secure seven points from the match. Starting the day at 35 for 1 in the second innings after being asked to follow on, Goa were bundled out for 138. Bhatt and Pithiya finished with nine wickets each in the match.
Half-centuries from Dhruv Shorey and Aman Mokhade was followed by a four-wicket haul for Harsh Dubey as Vidarbha secured a 160-run win over Puducherry. Vidarbha posted 175 for 3 declared in their second innings, giving Puducherry a target of 291. They fell well short of that as Dubey, in the company of Parth Rekhade (3-43) and Aman Mokhade (2-31) ran through Puducherry’s batting order, skittling them out for 130.
Haryana registered a seven-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh, taking less than 10 overs on Day 4 to reach the target of 71 after starting the day at 26 for 3. Kanishk Chouhan, who scored a fifty and took two wickets, was the Player of the Match.
Pheiroijam Jotin’s 105 not out navigated Manipur through a tense chase as they secured a three-wicket win in their Plate group match against Mizoram. Needing 228 for victory, Manipur started the day at 8 for 0. It became 52 for 5 as Khiangte Vanrotlinga and Lalrempuia dented the opposition early in the day. But Jotin, batting at No. 7, put on a 114-run stand with Johnson Singh (51) to get Manipur back on track. There were some nervous moments as Johnson and L Kishan Singha fell in quick succession, leaving Manipur at 185 for 7. But Jotin stayed till the end and got the job done in the company of Rx Rajkumar.
Other noteworthy performances
Karun Nair came to Karnataka’s rescue with an unbeaten 155 as their match against Andhra in Vijaywada ended in a draw, with the hosts having taken the first-innings lead. Karnataka started Day 4 at 176 for 6, and lost a couple of quick wickets. But Karun batted well with the lower order to help his side finish with 337 for 9 declared. Needing 194 for victory, Andhra finished with 104 for 4 as the match ended in a draw.
Shubham Sharma struck a century while Avesh Khan and Aryan Pandey bagged three wicket hauls in Srinagar. However, Madhya Pradesh weren’t able to force a result as hosts and defending champions Jammu and Kashmir held on to a hard-fought draw. Skipper Shubham’s unbeaten 106 powered Madhya Pradesh to 249 for 6 declared after they started the day at 151 for 5. Needing 326 for victory, J & K, slipped to 12 for 5 as Avesh and Aryan ran through the batting order. The lower middle order tried to fight it out but J & K kept losing wickets, even as rain and bad light kept Madhya Pradesh anxious. Eventually, the game ended in as draw thanks to fighting knocks from Auqib Nabi (30*) and Kanhaiya Wadhawan (27*), who returned after retiring hurt, with the hosts finishing with 88 for 7.
Centuries from Salil Arora and Emanjot Singh Chahal, and a fighting performance from Assam, highlighted the Day 4 action in New Chandigarh as the match ended in a draw, with Punjab getting the first-innings lead. Punjab were 287 for 5 at the start of Day 4 and reached 478 for 6 declared thanks to Arora and Chahal’s tons. Assam, who began their second innings trailing by 105, found themselves in trouble as they were reduced to 36 for 3, with Umesh Yadav and Harpreet Brar doing the damage. But the middle order came up with a solid show, keeping Punjab at bay at Assam reached 157 for 6 before the game ended in a draw.
Chirag Jani’s 127 headlined Saurashtra’s batting effort on Day 4 as their match against Chhattisgarh ended in a draw. Having already taken the first-innings lead, Saurashtra finished with 229/1 decl. in their second essay, with Jani and Harvik Desai (68) sharing a 151-run opening stand. Ravindra Jadeja was the Player of the Match for his century and three-wicket haul earlier in the game.
Kerala weren’t able to prevent Jharkhand from taking the first-innings lead but Aditya Sarwate’s 135-ball 95 ensured that the game ended in a draw. Kerala started the day at 269 for 6 in their first innings, in reply to Jharkhand’s 587. They were in danger of folding for a low total but Sarwate and Salman Nizar (43 off 135) put on a fighting partnership to eat up the overs. Kerala were eventually bowled out for 395, and were asked to follow on. They reached 60 for 2 in their second innings before the players shook hands for the draw.
Mahipal Lomror’s 170-ball 84 kept Tamil Nadu waiting before Rajasthan declared their second innings at 192 for 6. Needing 282 to win, Tamil Nadu ended with 73 for 0, with Sai Sudharsan scoring an unbeaten 26 having faced 67 balls. The match ended in a draw with Rajasthan having secured the first-innings lead.
Gurinder Singh’s unbeaten 100 off 160 balls helped Sikkim draw their match against Meghalaya in the Ranji Trophy Plate group match. Starting the day at 44 for 0 in their second innings, still trailing by 106 runs, Sikkim managed to keep Meghalaya at bay thanks to Gurinder’s ton, along with a fine 66 from Parth Palawat.
Leave a Reply