Ranji Trophy: Pujara strikes unbeaten century; Padikkal, Pandey ton powers Karnataka

Batting stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara, ignored for the two-Test series against South Africa, cracked an unbeaten century as defending champions Saurashtra made a mockery of the Jharkhand bowling attack to score 406/4 on day 2 of the Ranji Trophy opening round Group A match in Rajkot on Saturday.

Pujara was 157 not out at stumps, and giving him company at 23 was Prerak Mankad.

Saurashtra, who had bundled out Jharkhand for a paltry 142 on the opening day with Chirag Jani taking his maiden five-for in First-Class cricket, are in complete control after having taken a 264-run lead with opener Harvik Desai (85), Sheldon Jackson (54) and Arpit Vasavada (68) being the other notable contributors.

Overnight batters Harvik and Jackson didn't last long on day 2, though the duo managed a 108-run partnership for the second wicket to give the hosts a good platform to build on.

Pujara found the gaps and occasionally punished the loose deliveries, consuming 239 deliveries for his 157 that was studded with 19 boundaries.

His 146-run partnership with Vasavada helped the hosts post an imposing total, one which could help them win by an innings and garner a bonus point.

Jharkhand bowlers were woefully ill-equipped to match the batting prowess of the team led by India pacer Jaydev Unadkat with all their six bowlers going for plenty of runs.

Brief scores:

At Rajkot: Jharkhand 142 in 49 overs vs Saurashtra 406/4 in 119 overs (Harvik Desai 85, Sheldon Jackson 54, Cheteshwar Pujara not out, Arpit Vasavada 68).

At Solapur: Manipur 137 in 54.1 overs & 85/4 in 39 overs (Hitesh Walunj 3/21) vs Maharashtra 320 in 81.2 overs (Siddhesh Veer 58, Kedar Jadhav 56, Ankit Bawne 153; Bishworjit Konthoujam 4/77).

At Nagpur: Services 241 in 87.5 overs (Rajat Paliwal 84, Lovekesh Bansal 73; Umesh Yadav 3/73,Aditya Thakare 3/39) vs Vidarbha 191/8 in 74 overs (Akshay Wadkar 59; Varun Choudhary 4/44).

At Rohtak: No play between Rajasthan and Haryana due to bad light.

Karnataka in command over Punjab

Devdutt Padikkal and Manish Pandey cracked attractive hundreds to power Karnataka to a commanding 461 for 6 against Punjab on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match in Hubballi, Karnataka on Saturday.

Padikkal (193, 216b, 24x4, 4x6) and Pandey (118, 165b, 13x4, 3x6) ensured that Karnataka led by a massive 309 runs in the first innings at close, after bundling out their rivals for a lowly 152 on the first day.

Padikkal, overnight 80, and Pandey, starting from 13, milked 234 runs for the third wicket as the hosts motored on with purpose.

Wicketkeeper batter Sharath Srinivas made an unbeaten 55 to add to the total.

Brief scores:

Punjab (1st innings): 152 all out vs Karnataka (1st innings): 461 for 6 in 123 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 193, Manish Pandey 118, S. Sharath 55 not out; Arshdeep Singh 2/71).

TN take vital lead

At Valsad, Tamil Nadu managed to eke out a small yet crucial 14-run first innings lead over Gujarat.

After bowling out Gujarat for 236, TN struggled to get going in their first innings as they lost regular wickets as leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (4/73) and pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla (3/35) rocked them.

But a ninth-wicket alliance between M. Mohammed (85, 99 balls) and Sandeep Warrier (38) helped TN take the vital lead.

Pacer Warrier returned to take three wickets as TN reduced Gujarat to 38 for three in their second innings and the latter now leads by 24 runs.

Brief scores:

Gujarat (1st innings): 236 all out & 2nd innings: 38/3 in 13 overs (Sandeep Warrier 3/5) vs Tamil Nadu (1st innings): 250 all out in 67.5 overs (M. Mohammed 85, Sandeep Warrier 38; Ravi Bishnoi 4/73, Arzan Nagwaswalla 3/35).

Vivek guides Railways

At Chandigarh, powered by a hundred by opener Vivek Singh, Railways reached 313 for 4 in their first essay when stumps were drawn and they now lead the home side by 217 runs.

Vivek received good support from Shivam Chaudhary (53) and Mohammed Saif (58 batting), after Railways had bowled out Chandigarh for 96 in their first dig.

Brief scores:

Chandigarh (1st Innings): 96 all out vs Railways (1st innings): 313/4 in 83 overs (Vivek Singh 114, Shivam Chaudhary 53, Mohammed Saif 58 not out).

Paul ton powers Tripura

Sridam Paul made a fine century, while veteran wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha (97) and Manishankar Mura Singh (50) scripted fifties as Tripura reached a position of strength against Goa.

Tripura amassed 484 in their first innings and then reduced Goa to 53 for 4, and the latter trail by 431 runs.

Brief scores:

Tripura (1st Innings): 484 all out in 123.4 overs (Sridam Paul 112, Ganesh Satish 73, Wriddhiman Saha 97, Mura Singh 50; Mohit Redkar 4/74, Arjun Tendulkar 2/94) vs Goa (1st Innings): 53/4 in 22 overs (Abhijit Sarkar 3/13).