A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday.
Siddhesh Lad's career-best 170 and skipper Shardul Thakur's three-wicket burst underlined Mumbai's domination as the hosts reduced Pondicherry to 43 for 4 after piling up 630/5 declared on Day Two of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash in Mumbai on Monday.
Thakur struck twice in first three balls and returned 3/17, following up on a minute-a-mile fifty earlier in the day as his side left Pondicherry staring at a mountain to climb. The visitors are trailing by 587 runs in the first innings.
Thakur cleaned up Neyan Kangayan (0) in the first ball of the innings and trapped Paras Ratnaparkhe (0) in the third, while having Anand Singh Bais (5) caught behind in a fiery spell with the new ball on a flat wicket here at the Wankhede Stadium.
Earlier, Lad struck his 13th first-class hundred, his third of the season and second on the trot to make 170 off 285 balls with 19 fours and four sixes as Mumbai made merry on a batting-friendly pitch against an insipid Pondicherry attack.
Akash Anand (107 not out) notched up his third First Class ton in nine matches, but India batter Sarfaraz Khan missed out, falling for a 113-ball 67 (6x4s, 1x6s). Thakur smacked a characteristic 32-ball 56 with four sixes and three fours before retiring hurt.
While putting on 160 runs for the fourth wicket with Sarfaraz, Lad was in his elements, scoring runs on both sides of the wickets. Hitting two sixes each over long-on and long-off, he also pierced gaps at will to carve out a flawless innings.
Lad consolidated Mumbai's hold on the game as he added another 110 runs for the fifth wicket with Anand against an exhausted Pondicherry attack, who had each of their five bowlers including skipper Sagar Udeshi giving away more than 100 runs.
Sarfaraz took off his helmet and celebrated crossing the fifty-run mark like batters do after making tons, but poked on one outside off to be caught behind, having batted well for his maiden half-century of the season.
Mumbai did not take the foot off the pedal as Anand and Thakur then tore apart a tiring Pondicherry attack, adding 100 runs off only 68 balls in their bid to bat out the rivals.
Thakur was severe on anything short and wide while smacking powerful sixes on the leg side. Anand cracked eight fours to make 107 not out off 122 balls.
Anand said there is enough in the Wankhede track for the bowlers provided they were able to make the effort, while praising Pondicherry spinners for their efforts.
"There is enough help for everyone, for pacers and even for spinners. if you bat well, you have value for strokes also. It's a wicket where if you bend your back as a bowler, you have help throughout the day. That is what we aim to do," he told media.
In Jammu, hosts Jammu and Kashmir took complete control of the clash against Hyderabad by extending their overall lead to 324 runs.
J&K were 275 for four when stumps were drawn with opener Qamran Iqbal (50), Abdul Samad (77 not out) and Kanhaiya Wadhwan (82 not out) hitting their half-centuries.
Having taken a 49-run lead on the first day where 16 wickets fell, J&K produced a tidy effort with the bat to gain complete control of the game against Hyderabad who have not lost a game so far this season.
Hosts Rajasthan were bolstered by centuries from Mahipal Lomror (128 not out) and Kartik Sharma (120) on the second day after Sachin Yadav (130) and Kunal Singh Rathore (102) hit triple figure scores on Day One, to reach 570/7 declared against Delhi.
Delhi were 8 for no loss when stumps were drawn, trailing by a massive 562 runs.
At the Amtar Cricket Ground in Nadaun, Himachal Pradesh were 37/1 after Chhattisgarh declared their first innings at a massive score of 585 for six, following centuries from Anuj Tiwary (162), Amandeep Khare (101 not out), Mayank Verma (112) and Sanjeet Desai's 84.
Brief Scores:
At Mumbai: 630/5 in 147 overs (Musheer Khan 84, Akhil Herwadkar 86, Siddhesh Lad 170, Sarfaraz Khan 67, Akash Anand 107 not out, Shardul Thakur 56 retd hurt; Sabhay Chadha 2/146) lead Pondicherry 43/4 in 12 overs (Mohit Kale 13 not out; Shardul Thakur 3/17, Tushar Deshpande 1/7) by 587 runs.
At Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir 170 & 275/4 in 71 overs (Qamran Iqbal 50, Abdul Samad Samad 77 not out, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 82 not out; Rakshan Readdi 2/56) lead Hyderabad 121 by 324 runs.
At Rajsamand: Rajasthan 570/7d in 161 overs (Sachin Yadav 130, Kunal Singh Rathore 102, Mahipal Lomror , Kartik Sharma 120; Simarjeet Singh 3/81) lead Delhi 8/0 in 4 overs by 562 runs.
At Nadaun: Chhattisgarh 585/6d in 158 overs (Ayush Pandey 59, Anuj Tiwary 162, Sanjeet Desai 84, Mayank Verma 112; Mayank Dagar 2/124) lead Himachal Pradesh 37/1 in 11 overs by 548 runs.
Andhra's Abhishek Reddy slams maiden ton
Opener Abhishek Reddy weathered a potent Jharkhand bowling attack by scoring a timely unbeaten century as Andhra made a strong bid to overhaul the hosts' first-innings total on day two of the Ranji Tropy Group A match, in Jamshedpir on Monday.
Jharkhand, whose innings folded at 328 in 112.3 overs earlier in the day, were left sweating and grimacing at stumps after 31-year-old Reddy struck his maiden century (103 not out off 156 balls) to guide Andhra to 224 for 2.
Andhra need just 104 runs to take the first-innings lead with eight wickets still intact.
Reddy, who has struck back-to-back half-centuries against Odisha and Tamil Nadu this season, came up with a valuable century knock just when his team needed stability at the top against a side that has emerged triumphant on the back of some brilliant bowling from Sahil Raj and Rishi Raj.
Reddy, who started his domestic career with Karnataka way back in 2015, took almost a decade to score his maiden century.
He shared a 94-run stand for the opening wicket with India Test keeper-batter Srikar Bharat (51) before batting stoutly with Shaik Rasheed (58) for a 122-run stand for the second wicket to put Andhra in a strong position.
Relying heavily on his ground strokes, Reddy struck 11 boundaries and just one maximum as Andhra made a strong bid to dislodge Jharkhand from the No.2 spot on the points table.
While Jharkhand are on 16 points after four games, Andhra are third with 14 points.
At stumps, young spin all-rounder Tripurana Vijay (6 not out) was giving Reddy company.
The morning session didn't bring huge cheers for Jharkhand with their last-four wickets falling for the addition of just 69 runs. Overnight batter Sahil Raj laboured to 50 (86 balls) as he added 43 runs on the second day before he was the last player to be dismissed.
Andhra's veteran pacer KV Sasikanth (4/67) and left-arm spinner Saurab Kumar (4/77) did well to restrict their opponents.
Brief Scores:
In Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 328 in 112.3 overs (Sharandeep Singh 115, Virat Singh 41, Sahil Raj 50; KV Sasikanth 4/67, Saurabh Kumar 4/77) vs Andhra 224 for 2 in 60 overs (Abhishek Reddy 103 not out, Srikar Bharat 51, Shaik Rasheed 5).
In Bhubaneswar: Odisha 275 in 104.4 overs (Biplab Samantray 92, Anil Parida 118; Ronit More 3/64, Imliwati Lemtur 32/26, Rongsen Jonathan 3/67) & 16 for 2 in 6.5 overs vs Nagaland 161 in 57.3 overs (Dega Nischal 72; Rajesh Mohanty 349, Sambit Baral 3/33, Govinda Poddar 3/22).
In Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu 455 in 136.3 overs (Baba Indrajith 149, C Andre Siddarth 121, Guruswamy Ajitesh 86; Kunal Tyagi 2/51, Kartik Yadav 5/103) vs Uttar Pradesh 87 for 1 in 33 overs (Abhishek Goswami 54 not out).
In Nagpur: Vidarbha 169 in 58 overs & 126 for 3 in 43 overs (Dhruv Shorey 61) vs Baroda 166 all out in 72.2 overs (Vishnu Solanki 59 not out; Nachiket Bhute 3/24, Ganesh Bhosle 3/30, Parth Rekhade 3/50).
Smaran hits double ton to put Karnataka in driver's seat
Promising Ravichandran Smaran hit an unbeaten 227 and was being supported well by the lower-order to put Karnataka in the driver's seat on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Chandigarh in Hubli, Karnataka, on Monday.
Resuming at the overnight personal score of 110 with Karnataka at 298 for 5, Smaran stitched crucial partnerships with Shreyas Gopal (62), Vidyadhar Patel (30) and Shikahr Shetty (59) as Karnataka declared at a mammoth 547 for 8 in 160 overs.
Smaran first stitched 141 runs for the sixth wicket Gopal and then shared unconquered 120 with Patel to take Karnataka to the imposing total.
Smaran decorated his 362-ball knock with 16 boundaries and two hits over the fence.
For Chandigarh, medium pacer Jagjit Singh (2/70), off-spinner Vishu Kashyap (2/141) and left-arm spinner Nishunk Birla (2/159) shared six wickets between them.
At stumps on the second day, Chandigarh were struggling at 72 for 4 in reply to Karnataka's mammoth score.
Opener Arjun Azad made 32. At the close of play, skipper Manan Vohra was batting on 14.
Leg-spinner Gopal was the pick of the bowlers for Karnataka with figures of 3 for 18.
Maharashtra enjoy slight upper-hand over Punjab
In Chandigarh, Punjab finished the second day at 125 for 4 in reply to Maharashtra's 350 all out.
Punjab still trail Maharashtra by 225 runs with six wickets in hand.
Resuming at the overnight score of 275 for 5, Maharashtra middle and lower order failed to rise to the occasion, managing just 75 runs for the remaining five wickets.
Arshin Kulkarni top-scored for Maharashtra with a 229-ball 133.
Right-arm pacer Gurnoor Brar picked 4 for 115 for Punjab.
Saurashtra post big total against Goa
In Rajkot, Saurashtra rode twin centuries from Prerak Mankad (155) and Sammar Gajjar (116) to post a commanding 587 for 7 declared against Goa.
Besides the duo, Hetvik Kotak remained unbeaten on 50.
For Goa, left-arm spinner Darshan Misal picked up four wickets for 195.
In reply, Goa finished the day at 125 for 2 with Abhinav Tejrana remaining unbeaten on 75 off 88 balls, an innings which included nine boundaries and two sixes.
Giving him company was Lalit Yadav on 23.
Kerala vs Madhya Pradesh match lies even stevens
Madhya Pradesh were 155 for 6 in reply to Kerala's 281 all out at stumps on day two in Indore. Resuming their innings at 246 for 7, Kerala were bundled out for the addition of just 35 runs.
Madhya Pradesh too didn't have the best of the outing with the bat with Saransh Jain holding the fort with an unbeaten 41 and giving him company was Aryan Pandey on 33.
Brief Scores:
In Hubli: Karnataka 547 for 8 declared in 160 overs (Ravichandran Smaran 227; Karun Nair 95, Shreyas Gopal 62; Jagjit Singh 2/70) vs Chandigarh 72 for 4 in 17.4 overs (Arjin Azad 32; Shreyas Gopal 3/18).
In New Chandigarh: Maharashtra 350 all out in 113.3 overs (Arshin Kulkarni 133, Prithvi Shaw 74; Gurnoor Brar 4/115).
In Rajkot: Saurashtra 585 for 7 in 150 overs (Prerak Mankad 155, Sammar Gajjar 116; Darshan Misal 4/195) vs Goa 125 for 2 in 30 overs (Abhinav Tejrana 75 batting; Jaydev Unadkat 1/26).
In Indore: Kerala 281 all out in 114.4 overs (Baba Aparajith 98, Abijith Praveen 60; Saransh Jain 3/40) vs Madhya Pradesh 155 for 6 in 61 overs (Saransh Jani 41 batting, Aryan Pandey 33 batting; MD Nidheesh 2/39).
Shahbaz shines again as Bengal eye fourth win of season
All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed continued his sterling comeback run as unbeaten Bengal tightened their hold on the Ranji Trophy clash against Assam, ending day 2 at 267 for 4 with a first-innings lead of 67, in Kalyani, West Bengal, on Monday.
The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, who has been a revelation since returning from injury in the match against Gujarat where he claimed a nine-wicket haul, struck a sparkling unbeaten 61 off 67 balls with six fours and two sixes.
Giving him company is Sumanta Gupta on 25 off 40 balls, including four boundaries, as the duo would look to bat long and extend Bengal's lead to a point that they bat just once in the match.
This is Shahbaz's third fifty in as many matches. In Bengal's previous outing against Railways, he produced a match-winning all-round effort of 7/56 and 86, helping secure a bonus-point victory.
His fluent knock on Saturday once again underlined the impact he has had on Bengal's unbeaten campaign.
With three points already assured through the first-innings lead, Abhimanyu Easwaran's side will now push for a full six-point win for their fourth outright victory of the season.
Replying to Assam's 200, Bengal were propped up initially by a 122-run second-wicket stand between skipper Abhimanyu (66) and Shakir Habib Gandhi (58), before Shahbaz and Sumanta Gupta consolidated their dominance heading into the penultimate day.
Earlier in the day, Assam's innings folded quickly from their overnight 194/8, adding just six runs.
Mukhtar Hussain was run out by Sudip Gharami in the second over of the day, while veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami (3/64) ended the resistance of skipper Sumi Ghadigaonkar (53 from 165 balls).
Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (3/24) and Mohammed Kaif (2/30) also contributed as Bengal's bowlers kept full control.
Bengal sit atop Group C with 20 points, ahead of Haryana (18) and Uttarakhand (16), and are firmly on course to extend their unbeaten run this season.
Brief Scores:
In Kalyani: Assam 200 in 80.2 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 62, Sumit Ghadigaonkar 53; Mohammed Shami 3/64, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 3/24, Mohammed Kaif 2/30). Bengal 267/4 in 67 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 66, Habib Gandhi 58, Anustup Majumdar 43, Shahbaz Ahmed 61 batting).
In Dehradun: Gujarat 324/8 declared in 88.4 overs (Jaymeet Patel 100, Abhishek Desai 99, Kshitij Patel 61 not out; Jagmohan Nagarkoti 4/65, Mayank Mishra 3/54) and 5 for no loss. Uttarakhand 272 in 74.3 overs (Kunal Chandela 116, Aarav Mahajan 47, J Suchith 40; Vishal Jayswal 3/29, Siddharth Desai 3/64).
In Valsad: Tripura 136 vs Railways 446/9 in 127 overs (Bhargav Merai 160, Mohammad Saif 158, Kush Marathe 78; Abhijit Sarkar 4/69, Ajay Sarkar 2/56).
In Rohtak: Services 205 and 122/4 in 58 overs (Shubham Rohilla 30). Haryana 111 in 43.2 overs (Ankit Kumar 32; Amit Shukla 8/27). PTI TAP AM TAP
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