Follow UsKarnataka secured the first innings lead against Railways despite a ton by Arindam Ghosh (105) and Mohammad Saif's knock of 84 on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match on Saturday.
Resuming at the overnight score of 213 for 3, Ghosh and Saif added 81 more runs and kept the Railways on course before leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal broke the 96-run fourth wicket partnership.
Saif ensured that there were no further losses till lunch as Railways moved to 303 for 4. However, they lost wickets in a heap after lunch before Yuvraj Singh hit 48. His exit at 419 to Ronit More (3/67) saw the team slide to 426 all out, handing a 55-run lead to Karnataka.
Despite losing Devdutt Padikkal early, Mayank Agarwal remained not out on 39 with R. Samarth (20 batting) for company as Karnataka ended the day with a 118-run lead.
In the other match of the day, Abdul Samad blitzed a 68-ball century (103, 78 balls, 19 fours, 2 sixes) to help Jammu & Kashmir take a 83-run lead. Pondicherry faltered in the second innings and the team was tottering at 113 for 9 at stumps on the third day as veteran off-spinner Parvez Rasool picked up five wickets. Pondicherry is ahead only by 30 runs with one wicket standing and a defeat looks imminent on the final day.
Brief scores: Karnataka 481 & 63 for one in 17 overs (Mayank Agarwal 39 batting) vs Railways 426 in 128.3 overs (Mrunal Devdhar 56, Vivek Singh 59, Arindam Ghosh 105 (197b, 12x4, 3x6), Mohammad Saif 84 (148b, 11x4, 1x6), Yuvraj Singh 48, K Gowtham four for 127, Ronit More three for 67, Vidyadhar Patil two for 77).
Pondicherry 343 & 113 for nine in 44 overs (Sagar Trivedi 26 batting, Parvez Rasool five for 29) vs Jammu and Kashmir 426 in 114.1 overs (Qamran Iqbal 96 (220b,13x4, 2x6), Jatin Wadhawan 69, Shubham Singh Pundir 51, Abdul Samad 103 (78b, 19x4, 2x6), Parvez Rasool 31, Abid Mushtaq 40, Sagar Trivedi five for 74, Sagar Udeshi three for 115).
Shahrukh's 194 puts TN in the front
Fresh from a million dollar plus IPL contract and some quality time among world beaters in the Indian dressing room, M Shahrukh Khan showed his wares in red ball format with magnificent 148-ball-194 that ensured first innings lead for Tamil Nadu against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Coming in to bat at number seven with Tami Nadu in deep trouble, Shahrukh soaked up the pressure as he fell just six short of converting his maiden first-class century into a double but put Tamil in front with his 10 sixes and 20 fours.
Resuming at a tricky 75 for two on third day after Delhi's innings ended at a commanding 452, Tamil Nadu made a strong riposte on the third day of the Elite Group H match with the 26-year-old Shahrukh leading the way.
Tamil Nadu were all out for 494 before stumps were called, securing a vital first-innings lead of 42 runs. The experienced Baba Indrajith, too, made a handsome contribution, stroking his way to 117 off 149 balls at the Barsapara Stadium that witnessed a barrage of fours and sixes, leaving the formidable outfit from the country's north stunned.
On a day that truly belonged to Shahrukh, who was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 9 crore in the IPL mega auction last weekend, left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra emerged as Delhi's most successful bowler as he returned figures of 6/108 after a hard day's work. Seasoned left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan was smashed for 107 runs in his 21 overs while his pace colleague, Kuldip Yadav conceded 105 runs from 18 overs, all thanks to the aggressive batting by the duo of Indrajith and Shahrukh, who added 134 runs after their team had lost five wickets for just 162 runs.
Indrajith struck 17 fours and two sixes during his stay in the middle, before he got lbw to Nitish Rana. The best was yet to come as Shahrukh put on a stand of 178 runs with wicketkeeper Narayanswami Jagadeesan, who chipped in with a 50 off 71 balls while enjoying his partner's belligerence from the non-striker's end.
Shahrukh reached his century in 89 balls and carried on in the same vein to not just rescue his team from a difficult position but also ensure three points for them. In the other match of the group, Chattisgarh beat Jharkhand by eight wickets inside three days to get full points.
Brief scores: Delhi 1st innings: 452 all out; Tamil Nadu 1st innings 494 all out in 107.5 overs (Shahrukh Khan 194, Baba Indrajith 117; Vikas Mishra 6/108). Jharkhand 169 and 133 (Utkarsh Singh 42, Sumit Ruikar 4/29); Chattisgarh 174 and (target 129) 129/2 (Akhil Herwadkar 62).
Maharashtra dismantle Assam to take lead
Maharashtra put themselves in a dominant position after bundling out Assam for a paltry 248 in their first essay on the third day of their Elite Group G Ranji Trophy game here on Saturday.
The Ankit Bawne-led side were in the driver's seat and enforced the follow-on after which Assam ended the day at 82 for 3 in their second essay. In pursuit of 415, Assam started on their overnight score of 81 for 2, but for the eastern team only talented Riyan Parag (88; 11x4;1x6) was the star performer as the other batters made a beeline to the dressing room.
Experienced left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav (4/25), who hails from Nashik, ran riot as he grabbed four wickets, including that of Parag, whom he trapped in front of the wicket. Parag only found an able ally in wicket-keeper Kunal Saikia (46 not out; 4x4) as the two added 70 runs for the sixth wicket.
But once Parag was dismissed, the Maharashtra bowlers led by Bachhav quickly removed the tail. No Assam batter showed any resistance as it was a dominant show by the team from the west, who had in their first essay piled up a mammoth score of 415, riding on maiden double hundred by debutant Pavan Shah.
Assam also lost three wickets in the second essay, with openers Rishav Das (34), Subham Mandal (8) and Gokul Sharma (0) back to the changing room as Maharashtra have a chance to secure full points on the last day at the Chaudhary Bansilal stadium. Riyan Parag (35 not out) and Sarupam Purkayastha (2 not out), who are holding fort, will have to bat the whole day if their side has to avoid defeat.
Brief scores: Maharashtra 415 all out versus Assam 248 all out (Riyan Parag 88, Subham Mandal 49; Satyajeet Bachhav 4/25, Manoj Ingle 2/34) and 82/3. Assam trail by 85 runs.
At Sultanpur: Uttar Pradesh 301 all out and 32/2 versus Vidarbha 548/6 (Faiz Fazal 192, Akshay Wadkar 102 not out; Saurabh Kumar 3/160, Ankit Rajpoot 2/86). Uttar Pradesh trail by 215 runs.
Andhra stumble against Rajasthan in chase of mammoth target
Identical scores of 79 by skipper Ashok Menaria and Mahipal Lomror enabled Rajasthan set Andhra a stiff target of 368 in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group E match here on Saturday. Andhra lost four wickets including that of captain K S Bharat to be 100 for 4 at stumps on the third day.
Resuming at 97 for 2 on the third day, Rajasthan batters Lomror and Garhwal (38) could add only 18 runs before the latter fell to Manish. Menaria who came in at the fall of Rajesh Bishnoi (0) put on 41 runs with Lomror.
Menaria hit six fours and three sixes as he kept the scoreboard ticking and helped swell the Rajasthan lead. He was dismissed by Y Sandep to leave the team at 272 for 8. No.11 batter Aniket Choudhary smashed four boundaries in his 18-ball 23 to add to the woes of the Andhra bowlers.
Chasing 368 for a win, Andhra were dealt an early blow as Uppara Girinath fell for 1 to Aniket Chouhary (2/31). Andhra lost three more wickets including that of skipper and star batter K S Bharat (6) and was 100 for 4 at stumps, needing another 268 runs to secure victory.
Brief scores: Stumps - Day 3: Services 176 all out in 78.4 overs and 204 all out in 83.5 overs (Hardik Sethi 56, Anshul Gupta 41, Dikshanshu Negi 3 for 22) vs Uttarakhand 248 all out in 79.2 overs (Kamal Singh 82, Dikshanshu Negi 69, Mayank Mishra 38, Arjun Sharma 3 for 31, Nitin Yadav 3 for 46) and 94 for 1 in 20 overs (Jay Bista 54 batting).
Rajasthan 275 all out in 59.2 overs and 316 all out in 92.2 overs (Mahipal Lomror 79, Ashok Menaria 79, Aditya Garhwal 38, K V Sasikanth 3/75) vs Andhra 224 all out in 86.2 overs (U M S Girinath 71, Sasikanth 34, Yara Sandeep 25, Aniket Choudhary 4 for 40, Shubham Sharma 3 for 69) and 100 for 4 in 28 overs (Ricky Bhui 31 batting).
Manipal trounce Arunachal by innings and 25 runs
Manipur pacers put up a fine exhibition of seam bowling to defeat Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 25 runs in their Ranji Trophy Plate group fixture at Calcutta Cricket and Football Club ground here on Saturday.
Arunachal Pradesh, who conceded a 177-run first innings lead, were bundled out for 152 in 53.3 overs with Kangabam Singh becoming the wrecker-in-chief in their second essay grabbing 4 for 25. Bishworjit Konthoujam and Rex Rajkumar accounted for two wickets each, while left-arm spinner L Kishan Singh, who made a dream debut bagging a hattrick in the first innings, claimed 1 for 28 as they wrapped the issue with a day to spare.
Singh was the hero of the first innings when he dismissed Kamsha Yangfo, Akhilesh Sahani and Suraj Tayam off successive deliveries as Manipur bundled out Arunachal Pradesh for 119 in 57 overs after they opted to bat. In reply, Manipur were bowled out for 296 with opener Al Bashid Muhammed topscoring for 79 while skipper Narisingh Yadav made a crucial 45 batting at No 7.
Brief Scores:
At Jadavpur University Second campus, Saltlake: Bihar 686/5 declared. Mizoram 298/7; 108 overs (Taruwar Kohli 151, Uday Kaul 96; Sachin Kumar 3/65).
At Videocon Academy, Saltlake: Sikkim 302 and 197/6; 58 overs (Codanda Ajit Karthik 61; Abu Nechim 2/22). Nagaland 412; 114.3 overs (Chetan Bist 115, Hokaito Zhimomi 105, Abu Nechim 61 not out, Yugandhar Singh 52, Srikant Mundhe 49; Palzor Tamang 5/33).
At CC&FC: Arunachal Pradesh 119 and 152; 53.3 overs (Akhilesh Sahani 50; Kangabam Singh 4/25). Manipur 296; 96.1 overs (Al Bashid Muhammed 79, Narisingh Yadav 45; Akhilesh Sahani 3/76). Manipur won by an innings 25 runs.