Ranji Trophy roundup: Yuvraj Singh falters for Punjab; Mumbai gain upper hand over Tamil Nadu

Here’s a roundup of all the Ranji Trophy action on the second day:

Yuvraj Singh fails before Punjab recovers

Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh fell cheaply in his Ranji Trophy season opener before Uday Kaul and Gurkeerat Singh led the side’s recovery against Railways on day two of their Group A match at New Delhi.

Punjab were reduced to 44 for four with Yuvraj’s dismissal before Uday (59*) and Gurkeerat (66*) steadied the ship with an unbeaten 110-run partnership.

Punjab, replying to Railways’ 331 all out, were 177 runs behind at close of play.

Railways, starting the day from overnight 257 for five, could add only 74 runs to the total.

Punjab medium pacer Siddharth Kaul was the pick of the bowlers, ending with a five-wicket haul.

Later, Uday and Gurkeerat showed maturity to bail their team out of a tough situation. Gurkeerat was the aggressor in the partnership, hitting ten fours and a six.

Yuvraj did not last long in the middle, scoring nine off 35 balls.

Punjab’s reply came after opener Shivakant Shukla and Ashish Yadav took Railways to a competitive first innings total.

Brief scores:

Railways: 331 all out in 118 overs (Shukla 128, Yadav 81; Siddharth Kaul 5/68).

Punjab 154/4 in 57 overs (Uday Kaul 59 batting, Gurkeerat 66).

Mumbai close in on Tamil Nadu at stumps on Day 2 Defending champions Mumbai took an upper hand over Tamil Nadu with as many as 11 wickets falling on the second day of their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match in Lahli, Haryana. Resuming at the overnight score of 85 for four in reply to Tamil Nadu’s timid first innings score of 87 all out, Mumbai were bowled out for 176 runs in 67 runs, which gave them an lead of 89 runs. Aditya Tare top-scored for Mumbai with a gritty 48-run knock. Medium pacer Krishnamoorthy Vignesh picked up five wickets for Tamil Nadu giving away just 41 runs from his 18 overs. Just like their first essay, Tamil Nadu’s batting department flopped once again in the match as they find themselves in a spot of bother at 153 for six in 54 overs in their second innings. At the draw of stumps on the second day, Tamil Nadu has taken an overall lead of 64 runs with four wickets and two full days to play.

Abhinav Mukund top-scored with 56 while his opening partner Washington Sundar made 40. At stumps, Baba Aparajith was batting on 15 while giving him company was J Kousik on 1. Vijay Gohil (3/36) picked up three wickets for Mumbai, while Dhawal Kulkarani (2/29) accounted for two. Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu: 87 & 153 for 6 in 54 overs (Abhinav Mukund 56, Washington Sundar 40; Vijay Gohil 36). Mumbai: 176 all out in 67 overs (Aditya Tare 48; Krishnamoorthy Vignesh 5/41).

Nitish Rana, Rishabh Pant propel Delhi to 241/3

Nitish Rana and Rishabh Pant forged an unbeaten 138-run stand to guide Delhi to 241 for three after the bowlers dismissed Assam for 193 on day two of the Ranji Trophy group B match at Vadodara on Friday.

Rana (72* off 138 balls) and Pant (84* off 83) were on course to reach the three-figure mark with Delhi ending the day at 241 for three, leading Assam by 48 runs.

Assam, who resumed at 132 for six, lasted 14.3 overs adding 61 runs to the total, thanks to an unbeaten 61 from Tarjinder Singh.

Delhi pacer Pradeep Sangwan polished off the tail to end with figures of 3 for 47.

Later, the Delhi batsmen capitalised on the good work done by the bowlers.

Opener Unmukt Chand, who is captaining the side in the absence of Gautam Gambhir, made 55 off 91 balls before being caught behind off leggie Amit Verma.

After Dhruv Shorey was dismissed to make it 103 for three, Rana and Pant took control of the match with a dominating display of batting especially from the wicket-keeper batsman.

Pant punished the opposition bowlers and ended up smashing seven fours and five sixes. Rana at the other end recorded ten fours.

Brief scores:

Assam 1st innings: 193 all out in 76.3 overs (Tarjinder Singh 61 not out; Sangwan 3/47).

Delhi: 241 for three in 71.2 overs (Chand 55, Rana 72 batting, Pant 84 batting).

Faiz Fazal leads Vidarbha to first innings lead against Odisha

Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal led by example to help his team gain a crucial first innings lead against Odisha in their group B match at Visakhapatnam.

Fresh from India A’s tour of Australia, the left-handed opener remained unbeaten on 76 (5x4, 1x6), even as Ganesh Satish departed in the fag end of the day for 74, ending their match-turning 158-run partnership. Vidarbha were 182 for two in reply to Odisha’s 150, at close on day two.

Fazal remained unaffected and ensured that there’s no further damage, even as his partner Aditya Shanware was yet to open his account from 19 balls.

Shanware had scored his only century (119) as an opener in his first class debut against the same team in Nagpur last season.

Resuming on 134 for six, Odisha lost their remaining four wickets in 49 balls as overnight batsman Biplab Samantray departed (53) in the first ball of the day.

Left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh (3/13) triggered the collapse before off-spinner Akshay Wakhare (3/19) cleaned the tail adding two more to his overnight’s tally.

In reply, Vidarbha’s opening duo of Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy approached with caution but could not extend their partnership beyond 20 when Deepak Behera gave the breakthrough bowling out the latter for 13.

But the 31-year-old skipper Fazal, who made his ODI debut against Zimbabawe in June, was steady and ensured that there was no further damage in a match-building partnership with Satish.

Fazal brought up his 28th first-class half-century in 114 balls, while Satish was faster to reach to his 22nd fifty off 89 balls.

In the final session, Satish took an edge behind the stumps off Suryakant Pradhan as Odisha finally manage to break the partnership.

Brief scores:

Odisha: 150 in 78.1 overs (Biplab Samantray 53; Shrikant Wagh 3/13, Akshay Wakhare 3/19).

Vidarbha: 182/2 in 67 overs (Faiz Fazal 76 batting, Ganesh Satish 74 batting).

Haryana take first innings honours against Services

Haryana produced a fine bowling display to bundle out Services for 197 in their first innings before reaching 117 for three to take the honours at stumps on the second day of their  group C match, at Mumbai.

Resuming at the overnight score of 143 for six, Services could add just 54 more runs before being bowled out in 73 overs.

Rajat Paliwal was the highest wicket-taker for Haryana with figures of three for 14, while Yuzvendra Chahal (2/41) and Harshal Patel (2/47) shared four wickets between them.

In reply, Haryana made a strong start with openers Nitin Saini (25) and Shubham Rohilla (62) sharing 52 runs for the opening stand.

Thereafter, Haryana lost two quick wickets in Saini and Chaitanya Bishnoi (7) with Yadav accounting for both the batsmen.

Yadav picked up third wicket of the day soon in the form of Himanshu Rana (18).

At the draw of stumps, Rohilla was not out on 62 with the help of nine boundaries.

Brief scores:

Services: 197 all out in 73 overs (Anshul Gupta 69; Rajat Paliwal 3/14); Y Chahal 2/41.

Haryana: 117 for three in 38 overs (Shubham Rohilla 62 not out, Vikas Yadav 3/31).

Kaushal Singh’s ton give Jharkhand first innings lead over Maharashtra

Young Kaushal Singh struck his maiden first-class century to guide Jharkhand to 293 for seven and ensure the vital first innings lead for his team against Maharashtra at the end of second day’s play in a group B match, at New Delhi.

Resuming at the overnight score of 33 for two in reply to Maharashtra’s 210 all out, Jharkhand were in trouble at 108 for five before Kaushal shared three crucial partnerships – with Virat Singh (46), Shahbaz Nadeem (26) and skipper Varun Aaron (24 not out) – to take 83 runs first innings lead over Maharashtra with three wickets still in hand.

Kaushal’s unbeaten 121-run knock came off 178 balls with the help of 15 boundaries and three hits over the fence.

For Maharashtra, Anupam Sanklecha (3/60) and Shrikant Mundhe (3/100) shared six wickets between them.

Brief scores:

Maharashtra: 210 all out in 71.1 overs (Ankit Bawne 78, Kedar Jadhav 59; Varun Aaron 4/47, Ashish Kumar 3/32).

Jharkhand: 293 for seven in 99 overs overs (Kaushal Singh 121 not out; Anupam Sanklecha 3/60, Shrikant Mundhe 3/100).

Baroda declare at 544-8 against Gujarat 

Deepak Hooda completed a strokeful century on the second day as Baroda produced a brilliant batting display to take firm control of their group A match against Gujarat at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium at Jaipur.

Riding on Hooda’s century and some useful contributions from Hardik Pandhya (47) and Swapnil Singh (66 not out), Baroda declared their first innings at 544-8 after starting the day at an overnight score of 285-2.

In reply, Gujarat were at 34-0 in 15 overs. At the draw of stumps, Gujarat openers SB Gohel (12) and PK Panchal (14) were at the crease.

Hooda and A Waghmode (142) continued their dominant run and added another 57 runs for the third wicket today. Hooda completed his century before Mehul Patel dismissed him in the 96th over. His 160-ball innings was laced with 20 boundaries.

Waghmode then was removed by Axar Patel in the 111th over and two overs later Yusuf Pathan was also sent packing by Axar as Baroda lost half their side in 113 over.

Axar came back to get rid of Irfan Pathan (0) as well just after Baroda had crossed the 400-mark. Pandya and Swapnil then took the reins in their hands and added 65 runs together before the former was dismissed by Rujul Bhatt.

Swapnil and Pinal Shah (20) then guided Baroda to 511 when Bhatt returned to remove the latter. Swapnil and Gagandeep Singh (18) then scored some valuable runs before skipper Irfan decided to declare the innings after 155 over.

Brief scores:

Baroda: 544 for eight in 155 overs declared (D Hooda 118, A Waghmode 142; Axar Patel 3/136).

Akshath Reddy puts Hyderabad on top

Opener Akshath Reddy struck an unbeaten 105 to put Hyderabad in a commanding position against Goa in a group C match at Nagpur.

Resuming the day at 28 for one, Reddy guided Hyderabad to 188 for four at stumps on day two.

Goa were 164 all out on the opening day after choosing to bat at the VCA Stadium.

Hyderabad lost two wickets early in the day before Reddy resurrected the innings alongside captain Subramaniam Badrinath (41) as the pair shared a 90-run stand for the four wicket.

Reddy stood like a rock at the other end and after the fall of the skipper, ended the day with Bavanaka Sandeep (18*). The opener collected 17 fours in his 177-ball innings.

Brief scores:

Goa: 164 all out.

Hyderabad: 188 for four in 63 overs (Reddy 105 batting; Rituraj Singh 2/35).

Second day’s play between Himachal and Andhra washed out 

Rain played spoilsport as the second day of the Group C match between Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh was washed out without a ball being bowled at the KIIT Stadium at Bhubaneswar.

On the opening day, Himachal had scored 318 for 7 in their first innings with Sumeet Verma (116 not out) and Prashant Chopra (117) hitting twin centuries.

At stumps, Verma and Rahul Singh (2) were at the crease.

Saurashtra amass 430 against Rajasthan

Skipper Jaydev Shah missed out on a double hundred but Saurashtra piled on the misery for Rajasthan by amassing 430 runs in their first innings on the second day of their group B clash at Vizianagaram.

In reply, Rajasthan were 12 for no loss when stumps were drawn for the day.

Resuming at overnight 269 for five, Saurashtra were helped to the huge target by Shah’s fine knock which ended at 193 and some useful contributions down the order.

Shah smashed a 36 fours in his marathon knock which came off 228 deliveries. Samarth Vyas (27) and Chirag Jani (33) also chipped in to power Saurashtra to the big score.

For Rajasthan, four bowlers – Nathu Singh, Aniket Choudhary, K Ajay Singh, Mahipal Lomror – picked up two wickets apiece to make a concerted effort.

At close of play, Manender Singh (12) and Vineet Saxena (0) were at the crease for Rajasthan.

Brief scores:

Saurashtra: 430 in 97.3 overs (Jaydev Shah 193, Sheldon Jackson 76, Aniket Choudhary 2/67).

Rajasthan: 12/0 in 1.4 overs.

Rain keeps Sanju Samson stranded on 142

Heavy downpour halted Sanju Samson’s spectacular innings on 142 with Kerala on 282 for seven against Jammu and Kashmir in the 36 minutes of play that could be possible on day two of their group C match at Kalyani.

Resuming on 263 for seven with Sanju batting on his overnight score of 129, Kerala made steady progress and the 21-year-old wicketkeeper batsman carried on from where he left on Thursday.

Sanju showed some urgency adding 13 runs from 26 ball including three fours, while Manu Krishan also gave him a fine support but before they could consolidate heavy rains poured in for about two hours.

There was more rain in the afternoon as the match was called off at 3.30pm.

Brief scores:

Kerala: 282 for seven in 96.2 overs (Sanju Samson 142 batting, Manu Krishan 12 batting) vs Jammu and Kashmir.

Ashutosh’s 140 propels Chattisgarh to 255 against Tripura

Riding on Ashutosh Singh’s gritty century, Chattisgarh scored 255 allout in their first innings against Tripura on the second day of their group C match at the JSCA International Stadium Complex at Ranchi.

The 22-year-old from Ambikapur played the role of a sheet-anchor even as wickets kept falling at the other end and helped Chhattisgarh take a lead of 137 runs after they started their innings at an overnight score of 77 for three.

Ashutosh cracked 16 boundaries and one six in his 274-ball 140-run innings, while the other contributors were opener Rishabh Tiwari (31) and skipper Mohammad Kaif (27).

For Tripura, Rana Dutta (3/39) and Abhijit Dey (4/26) shared seven wickets between them, while M Murasingh (1/67) and Gurinder Singh (1/65) were the other wicket-takers.

After dismissing Chattisgarh in 103.4 overs, Tripura reached 10-0 in three overs with BB Ghosh (1) and UU Bose (0) at the crease at the draw of stumps. Tripura are still 127 runs behind with ten wickets in hand.

Earlier, Abhijit was on fire as he dismissed overnight batsmen – Kaif and Ashutosh and also accounted for the wickets of AJ Mandal (5) and PR Sinha (1).

Brief scores:

Tripura first innings: 118

Tripura second innings: 10/0 (3 overs)

Chhattisgarh first innings: 255 all out in 103.4 overs (Ashutosh Singh 140; Abhijit Dey 4/26)