Defending champions, Karnataka registered a thumping win over Jammu & Kashmir while Assam beat Services on the third day of the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 season. Here are the highlights of the day:
Bengal vs Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu were trailing by 128 runs in the second innings with nine wickets in hand at the end of day’s play against Bengal. Earlier, Bengal declared their innings on 454/9 after resuming on 183/2 in the morning. AR Easwaran scored 150 to power Bengal to a sizeable first innings lead while Manoj Tiwary fell three short of a century. With the exception of SS Lahiri (43) the rest of the line-up however returned without making useful contributions. TN’s Aushik Srinivas and T Natarajan claimed three wickets each. At stumps, TN were 80/1 with KB Shankar and Srinivas in the middle.
Karnataka vs J&K: A comprehensive innings and 30 runs win gave Karnataka seven points from the match. The Vinay Kumar-led side bowled J&K out for 233 in the second innings to strengthen their position at the top of the table. Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Sreenath Aravind picked three wickets each while Shreyas Gopal took one.
Mumbai vs Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh were leading by 134 runs in the first innings at stumps on the pen-ultimate day of the fifth round match in Mumbai. Naman Ojha (155) and Devendra Bundela (115) watchfully propelled the visitors to a first innings lead earlier on the third day at the Wankhede Stadium. The pair extended their overnight partnership to 259 to take the team within reach of Mumbai’s 404-run first innings score.
The MP captain then secured the lead after Ojha’s departure ensuring his team three points before returning to the pavilion. At the end of day’s play MP were 538/7 with Ankit Sharma (35*) and Puneet Datey (16*) in the middle.
Uttar Pradesh vs Baroda: Yusuf Pathan claimed six wickets to wrap-up UP’s first innings for 223 and enforce the follow-on. Irfan Pathan and Bhargav Bhatt also chipped in with two wickets apiece in the effort. Following on UP were 111/3 with Swapnil Singh claiming two wickets and Bhatt pitching in with one. At stumps UP were trailing by 164 in the second innings.
Haryana vs Delhi: Delhi were leading by 224 runs with five wickets in hand in the second innings in Lahli. The visitors had secured a first innings lead on Day 2. Resuming on 7 without loss the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended the day on 134/5. At stumps Sumit Narwal was batting on 13 with Rajat Bhatia on one.
Odisha vs Vidarbha: Odisha were trailing by 103 runs with a wicket in hand in the first innings at stumps on Day 3. Earlier, Vidarbha were bowled out for 240 after resuming on 129/4. Shrikant Wagh and Swapnil Bandiwar then claimed three wickets each while R Thakur picked two and R Dhruve took one to tip the balance in Vidarbha’s favour with a day left in the game.
Rajasthan vs Punjab: Following on Punjab were trailing by 74 runs with seven wickets in hand at the end of day’s play. Aniket Choudhary returned with four wickets to bowl Punjab out for 274 in the first innings. Pankaj Singh then sent back the openers in the second innings to leave Punjab on 27/2. At stumps, Punjab were 85/3 with Taruvar Kohli (34*) and Yuvraj Singh (12*) in the middle.
Saurashtra vs Maharashtra: Following on in Rajkot, Saurashtra were trailing by 193 runs with six wickets in hand at stumps on Day 3. While Sheldon Jackson scored 102, and SM Sanandiya made 40 lower down the order the rest of the lineup succumbed to Maharashtra. Chirag Khurana picked five while Akshay Darekar took three to bowl the host out for 273 and enforce the follow-on. Khurana and Darekar then struck again to leave the hosts reeling on the third day. When play ended, Saurashtra were 53/4 with V Joshi and Jackson in the middle.
Andhra Pradesh vs Jharkhand: Resuming on 179/4, AP scored 304 and secured a first innings lead before being bowled out. Complemented by the other bowlers CV Stephen then skittled Jharkhand out for 104 in the second innings. The bowler claimed 6/32 to give his team an opportunity to claim an outright win. Chasing the 47-run target, Andhra were 10 without loss at stumps.
Assam vs Services: Assam gained six points from their five-wicket win against Services. Resuming on 211/8 they were bowled out for 257 in the first innings earlier in the day. Their bowlers then skittled Services out for 170 in the second innings. S Purkayastha claimed 5/29 while A Das and J Syed Mohammad picked two wickets each and K Das took one. Chasing the 27-run target they however lost five wickets. Saurabh Kumar claimed before attaining it as Saurabh Kumar claimed 3/16.
Himachal Pradesh vs Kerala: Paras Dogra’s 166 and B Sharma’s 118 powered HP to 517 and set up the game for the side before being bowled out on the third day. At 63/4 in the second innings, Kerala were trailing by 258 runs at stumps on Day 3.
Tripura vs Hyderabad: Tripura were trailing by 67 runs in the second innings with six wickets in hand in reply to Hyderabad’s mammoth score of 491/9. Resuming on 487/9, Hyderabad declared their innings after DB Ravi Teja’s century earlier in the day. Tripura, who were bowled out for 184 in the first innings put up a better performance in the second to end the day on 240/4. When play ended, R Solanki was batting on 71 with R Banik as Tripura look for a draw.
By: BCCI
