Ranji Trophy roundup: Mumbai rally courtesy Shreyas Iyer's ton, Tamil Nadu take first-innings lead

Hubballi: Shreyas Iyer was the lone ranger as his unbeaten 191 helped Mumbai to 328/6 in their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match against Gujarat on Wednesday. At stumps on the third and penultimate day, Mumbai trailed Gujarat by 109 runs with four wickets remaining in the first innings. Gujarat were all out for 437 in their first essay after Priyank Kirit Panchal slammed 232.

Resuming on 58/3 with Iyer batting on 27, Mumbai had to rely on the 22-year-old right-handed batsman, who played through the day, to take his team to safety at KSCA Rajnagar Stadium. Another overnight batsman, Dhawal Kulkarni, contributed 61 while adding 187 runs for the fourth wicket with Iyer, who decorated his 310-ball innings with 18 boundaries and two sixes. Night-watchman Kulkarni, who was to open his account at close of play yesterday, found the fence 11 times while facing 185 balls. Seamer Jasprit Bumrah was the most successful bowler for Gujarat, returning figures of 4/49. Mumbai were trailing by 379 runs when the proceedings started on the third morning.

Delhi in trouble chasing 153 as Pant dismissed for 0 Wayanad: Delhi will be hoping that the seasoned Shikhar Dhawan can take them past finishing line as they are in a spot of bother at 51 for 3 chasing a tricky target of 153 in a Ranji Trophy group B encounter. On the final day, Delhi will require 102 runs with seven wickets in hand as Dhawan batting on 35 off 46 balls with six fours will have to anchor his team to their second outright thereby keeping them in contention for a knock-out berth. Dhawan will do well to remember the 2010-11 season when during a similar chase (130 odd) against Railways, his indiscretion saw Delhi lose the match at the Roshanara ground. That was Dhawan before his Test debut and now he is a player who is gearing up for a comeback into the team post injury. But Delhi will also feel a bit uncomfortable as their premier match-winner Rishabh Pant (0) was unfortunately run-out without having faced a ball due to lack of communication with senior partner Dhawan. This was the first time that Dhawan and Pant were batting together in a first-class game. This was also Pant’s first duck of the season having already ammassed 874 runs in six games. Pant’s half an hour stay at the wicket could have made a massive difference. India discard Gautam Gambhir’s wretched form continued as he was dismissed by Pankaj Singh caught by Amitkumar Gautam for 2. Unmukt Chand (5) got a boundary but was leg before to a delivery from Aniket Chaudhary that held its line. Earlier, Rajasthan scored 221 in their second innings with Rajesh Bishnoi hitting 89 off 162 balls with the help of eight boundaries and four sixes. Brief Scores:

Rajasthan 238 and 221 (Rajesh Bishnoi 89, Pradeep Sangwan 3/31). Delhi 307 and (target 153) 51/3 (Shikhar Dhawan 35 not out, Rishabh Pant 0).

Vidarbha takes first innings lead against Saurashtra New Delhi: Vidarbha took the all important first innings lead against Saurashtra on day three of the Ranji Trophy Group B match. Replying to Saurashtra, Vidarbha ended up with 347 with openers Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy sharing a 171 run stand. Vidarbha had started day three at 242 for three before Jitesh Sharma (49) took his team past Saurashtra’s first innings total. Saurashtra were 92 for two at stumps with Snell Patel batting on 60 in the company of Vandit Jivrajani. Brief scores:

Saurashtra 301 and 92/2 in 33 overs.

Vidarbha 347 (Fazal 94, Ramaswamy 77; Jivrajani 4/93).

Gandhi’s 164 helps Tamil Nadu take first-innings lead Nagpur: Kaushik Gandhi’s 164-run knock paved the way for Tamil Nadu to take a crucial first-innings lead of 70 runs in their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match against Punjab. Resuming on 218/4, Tamil Nadu were helped by Gandhi’s innings and his 85-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Dinesh Karthik (54) and another 79 for the fifth wicket with Vijay Shankar (33). Thanks to their efforts, Tamil Nadu managed 354 before being all out, replying to Punjab’s first-innings total of 284. Gandhi, who was batting on 75 overnight, struck 21 boundaries and faced 350 balls. Manpreet Gony (4/81) Siddarth Kaul (3/86) were the most successful bowlers for Punjab. In their second essay, Punjab were 121/2 when the stumps were drawn on the third and penultimate day at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground. While Manan Vohra got out after scoring 41, Uday Kaul (43) and Mandeep Singh (35) were batting for Punjab at the close of play. Punjab led by 51 runs with eight wickets remaining in their second innings.

Odisha in driver’s seat against Karnataka New Delhi: Karnataka batsmen continued to struggle as Odisha tightened their grip over their Ranji Trophy Group B match and would look to force a win on the final day of the contest. Odisha added 36 more runs to their overnight total with last-wicket pair to be all out for 342 and took a significant 163-run first innings lead. Karnataka’s second innings was better than the first but it was not enough to make it a contest as they ended the third day at 244 for six. They effectively have 81 runs on the board with only four wickets in hand. Odisha will certainly look to wipe off the lower-order and fancy a win to get full points. Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh (3/54) rattled the Karnataka top and middle order with his three-wicket burst while Basant Mohanty, Biplab Samantray and Govinda Poddar chipped in with one wicket each. Wicket-keeper batsman Chidambaran Gautam was waging a battle for his Karnataka with his unbeaten 68 run knock that came off 180 balls. Ravikumar Samrath (49 , Robin Uthappa (32) and Stuart Binny (32) got starts but were guilty of not converting those into big knocks. Brief Scores: Karnataka 179 and 244 for six in 81 overs. Odisha 1st innings: 342 all out.

Veteran Bundela hits ton to take MP to a commanding position New Delhi: Devendra Bundela (131 not out) played a captain’s knock while Shubham Sharma (91 not out) notched up his best first-class score as Madhya Pradesh are all set to take the all-important first innings lead over Railways in a Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match. Resuming at the overnight score of 71 for three in reply to Railways 371 all out, veteran Bundela hit a well-crafted century off 296 balls with the help of 19 boundaries and two sixes to steer Madhya Pradesh’s innings. Together with overnight batsman Naman Ojha (50), Bundela shared 85 runs for the fourth wicket before stitching unconquered 192-run sixth wicket stand with Sharma to give Madhya Pradesh the upper hand at stumps on the third and penultimate day at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground here. Sharma’s runs came off 174 deliveries and was studded with 10 boundaries and two hits over the fence. Barring a shocking batting collapse, Madhya Pradesh are sure to overwhelm Railways first innings total as they trail by just 154 runs with five wickets still in hand. For Railways, Avinash Yadav (3/90) and skipper Karn Sharma (2/71) were the wicket takers. Brief Scores: Railways: 371 all out Madhya Pradesh: 356 for five in 130 overs (Devendra Bundela 131 not out, Shubham Sharma 91 not ; Avinash Yadav 3/90).

Sanklecha destroys Assam as Maharashtra eye innings victory Chennai: Medium-pacer Anupam Sanklecha registered his best bowling figures in first-class cricket to help Maharashtra stand on the verge of an innings win against Assam in a Group B Ranji Trophy match. Sanklecha returned with impressive figures of 8 for 73 to bundle out Assam for 256 in their first innings after resuming at the overnight score of 132 for three in reply to Maharashtra’s 542 all out. Following on, Assam were in a spot of bother at 115 for six in their second essay with Sanklecha again turning out to be the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets for 37 runs. Apart from Sanklecha, Mohsin Sayyed picked up two wickets giving away 21 runs. At stumps on the third and penultimate day, skipper KB Arun Karthik was batting on 33 and giving him company was Swarupam Purkayastha on 7. Assam still trail Maharashtra by 171 runs with just four wickets in hand. Earlier in the day, opener Rishav Das added 33 more runs to his overnight score before being dismissed by Sanklecha for 86. Arun Karhtik made fine 47 while Kumal Saikia (39) could add just one run to his overnight score before falling to Sanklecha. Brief Scores: Maharashtra: 542 all out Assam: 256 & 115 six in 46 overs (KB Arun Marthik 33 not out, Kumal Saikia 33; Anupam Sanklecha 3/37).