Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani returned a five-wicket haul as a dominant Mumbai crushed Himachal Pradesh by an innings and 120 runs to notch up an outright win on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match, in Mumbai, Monday.
After putting on board 446 in the first innings, Mumbai ran through a frail Himachal Pradesh batting line-up twice in as many days on a dusty BKC Ground track to record a comprehensive victory, their second of the season.
Himachal, bundled out for 187 in a poor first-innings show on a placid wicket earlier on day three, showed no significant improvement in the second. They were bowled out of 139 with Pukhraj Mann (65 off 109 balls, 9x4s) offering some sole resistance.
Resuming at a precarious 94/7 in the first innings, a brisk half-century from number 10 Vaibhav Arora (51 off 61 balls, 7x4s, 4x6s) gave HP some much-needed impetus, even as Nikhil Gangta (64 not out, 134 balls, 8x4s) held the other end strongly.
Arora used the long handle to a good effect and hammered powerful sixes down the ground, putting on 77 runs for the ninth wicket with Gangta, but that could not delay the inevitable as HP were bundled out for 187, conceding a huge 259-run lead.
Asked to follow-on, Himachal were again off to a poor start with Tushar Deshpande getting skipper Ankush Bains (0) caught behind and Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur trapping Siddhant Purohit (2) leg before wiket.
Himachal were soon reduced to 68/4 when Mulani struck twice to get rid of Ankit Kalsi (19) and Ekant Sen (7). The visitors found a dependable pair of Mann and Gangta who steadied the ship with a 44-run stand on either side of tea break.
However, Mumbai brought on Ayush Mhatre to roll over his arm in search of the breakthrough, and he had Mann caught by Ajinkya Rahane at the first slip for his maiden wicket in the 36th over.
Mulani expedited the end of the contest with final three wickets to complete another five-wicket haul.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai: 446 beat Himachal Pradesh 187 in 65.5 overs (Nikhil Gangta 64 not out, Vaibhav Arora 51; Himanshu Singh 3/54) & 139 in 49.1 overs (Pukhraj Mann 65; Shams Mulani 5/37, Musheer Khan 2/23) by an innings and 120 runs.
Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani returned a five-wicket haul as a dominant Mumbai crushed Himachal Pradesh by an innings and 120 runs to notch up an outright win on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match, in Mumbai, Monday.
After putting on board 446 in the first innings, Mumbai ran through a frail Himachal Pradesh batting line-up twice in as many days on a dusty BKC Ground track to record a comprehensive victory, their second of the season.
Himachal, bundled out for 187 in a poor first-innings show on a placid wicket earlier on day three, showed no significant improvement in the second. They were bowled out of 139 with Pukhraj Mann (65 off 109 balls, 9x4s) offering some sole resistance.
Resuming at a precarious 94/7 in the first innings, a brisk half-century from number 10 Vaibhav Arora (51 off 61 balls, 7x4s, 4x6s) gave HP some much-needed impetus, even as Nikhil Gangta (64 not out, 134 balls, 8x4s) held the other end strongly.
Arora used the long handle to a good effect and hammered powerful sixes down the ground, putting on 77 runs for the ninth wicket with Gangta, but that could not delay the inevitable as HP were bundled out for 187, conceding a huge 259-run lead.
Asked to follow-on, Himachal were again off to a poor start with Tushar Deshpande getting skipper Ankush Bains (0) caught behind and Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur trapping Siddhant Purohit (2) leg before wiket.
Himachal were soon reduced to 68/4 when Mulani struck twice to get rid of Ankit Kalsi (19) and Ekant Sen (7). The visitors found a dependable pair of Mann and Gangta who steadied the ship with a 44-run stand on either side of tea break.
However, Mumbai brought on Ayush Mhatre to roll over his arm in search of the breakthrough, and he had Mann caught by Ajinkya Rahane at the first slip for his maiden wicket in the 36th over.
Mulani expedited the end of the contest with final three wickets to complete another five-for here.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai: 446 beat Himachal Pradesh 187 in 65.5 overs (Nikhil Gangta 64 not out, Vaibhav Arora 51; Himanshu Singh 3/54) & 139 in 49.1 overs (Pukhraj Mann 65; Shams Mulani 5/37, Musheer Khan 2/23) by an innings and 120 runs.
Gujarat, Uttarakhand register outright wins in Group C on penultimate day
Vishal Jayswal's all-round show helped Gujarat beat Services by six wickets on the penultimate day of a Ranji Trophy Group C match in Nadiad, Gujarat.
Resuming their first innings at 171 for 4, Gujarat were bowled out for 256 in response to Services 148.
Kshitij Patel top-scored with 56 off 102 balls, while wicket-keeper Urvil Patel made 48. Off-spinner Pulkit Narang picked up 5/77 while Amit Shukla scalped 4/84 in Services' first innings.
After his 2/70 in the first innings, left-arm spinner Jayswal picked up match-winning 6/59 for Gujarat while he was complemented well by another leggie Siddharth Deasi (4/44) as the duo ran through Services' batting line-up in the second innings to bowl the visitors out for 125 in 37.3 overs.
Mohit Ahlawat made a valiant 56 off 70 balls for Services in their second innings.
Set a paltry target of 118 runs, Gujarat needed 77 runs for victory which they achieved with ease without losing any more wickets.
Kshitij remained unbeaten on 31.
The win handed Gujarat full six points from the tie.
Uttarakhand score big win over Haryana
In Rohtak, Uttarakhand handsomely defeated hosts Haryana by an innings and 28 runs to pocket full six points.
It didn't take Uttarakhand much time to wrap up Haryana's second innings, as after following on, the hosts were bundled out for 148.
Resuming at the overnight score of 105 for 6 in their second essay, Haryana failed to produce a fight in front of left-arm orthodox bowler Jagadeesha Suchith, who returned with match-winning spells of 5/27 and 6/56 to pick up an impressive 11-wicket haul in the match.
Assam on the backfoot against Tripura
Assam were struggling at 78 for three after following on, still trailing Tripura 286 runs with a day's play remaining in Agartala.
Resuming their first innings at 67 for 4, Assam were bowled out for 238 in 29 overs in response to Tripura's 602 for 7 declared, with Sibsankar Roy putting up a brave face scoring 84 off 151 balls.
Swapnil Singh (3/29), Manisankar Murasingh (2/33) and Abhijit Sarkar (2/37) were the main wicket takers for Tripura.
At stumps, skipper Denish Das (20 not out) and wicket-keeper Sumit Ghadigaonkar (9 not out) were at the crease with a herculean task ahead of Assam to save the match.
Bengal on verge of big win
In Surat, Railways' batting woes continued as after a dismal first innings effort of 222 in reply to Bengal's 444, they were in a spot of bother 90 for 5 in their second essay after following on, still needing 162 runs to avoid innings defeat.
Resuming their first innings at 97 for 5, Railways were bowled out for 222 with Bhargav Merai (91) and Upendra Yadav (70) doing bulk of the scoring.
For Bengal, fast bowler Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (4/35), medium pacer Mohammed Kaif (2/48) and off-spinner Rahul Prasad (2/34) picked up wickets in the first innings. Following on, Services lost wickets at regular intervals to find themselves in trouble. Shahbaz Ahmed (2/26) and Rahul Prasad (2/34) scalped two wickets each for Bengal.
Brief Scores:
In Nadiad: Services 248 & 125 (Mohit Ahlawat 56; Vishal Jayswal 6/59, Siddharth Desai 4/44) lost to Gujarat 256 & 118/4. Gujarat 6 points, Services 0.
In Rohtak: Haryana 112 & 148 lost to Uttarakhand by an innings and 28 runs (Jagadeesha Suhcith 5/27 & 6/56). Uttarakhand 6 points, Haryana 0.
In Agartala: Triupa 602/7d vs Assam 238 & 78/3 in 29 overs (Denish Das 20 not out; Ajay Sarkar 1/13). Assam trail by 286 runs.
In Surat: Bengal 474 vs Railways 222 & 90/5 in 39 overs (Bhargav Merai 20 not out; Shahbaz Ahmed 2/26, Rahul Prasad 2/34). Railways trail Bengal by 162 runs.
Rawat scores ton for Baroda but Jharkhand take big 1st innings lead
Baroda middle-order batter Shashwat Rawat struck a gritty century but could not stop table-toppers Jharkhand from taking a huge 215-run first-innings lead in their Ranji Tropy Group A match in Vadodara.
Rawat, who was unbeaten on 20 overnight, dug in his heels on day three to score 106 off 230 deliveries and help Baroda reach 291 all out in reply to Jharkhand's first-innings total of 506.
At stumps, Jharkhand were 10 for one, and ahead by 225 runs overall.
It wasn't an appealing sight watching Rawat slug it out at a snail's pace after Baroda had been reduced to 78 for 3 on Sunday.
Rawat's entire innings produced five boundaries and a six, though his 123-run partnership for the fifth wicket with keeper-batter Mitesh Patel (61 off 147 balls) probably denied Jharkhand an innings victory.
Jharkhand could have enforced a follow-an after taking a 215-run lead but they decided to bat again to perhaps put enough runs on the board in the first session on the final day on Tuesday and then try their luck for an outright win.
When Rawat and Patel were at the crease, it was a grind for the Jharkhand bowlers who toiled without much success on a docile wicket. But once Rawat departed, dismissed by right-arm pacer Sahil Raj (4/63), wickets fell in a heap with Rishav Raj (4/70) too taking four wickets.
Baroda batted more than 72 overs on day 3 and scored just 213 runs.
At stumps, opener Shikhar Mohan (9 not out) and Rishav Raj were at the crease.
In Visakhapatnam, Andhra won a low-scoring match against Tamil Nadu by four wickets by chasing down the 201-run target in 41.2 overs with opener Abhishek Reddy (70) and Karan Shinde (51) striking half-centuries.
Brief Scores:
In Vadodara: Jharkhand 506 & 10 for 1 vs Baroda 291 in 103.2 overs (Shashwat Rawat 106, Vishnu Solanki 65, Mitesh Patel 61; Sahil Raj 4/63, Rishav Raj 4/70).
In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 535 for 6 decl bt Nagaland 117 & (f/o) 153 in 51.1 overs (Chetan Bist 53; Shivam Sharma 5/25, Karan Sharma 3/72) by an innings and 265 runs.
In Nagpur: Vidarbha 286 & 218 for 2 decl in 59 overs (Aman Mokhade 101 not out, Dhruv Shorey 101) vs Odisha 160 & 44 for no loss (Swastik Samal 25 not out).
In Visakhapatnam: Tamil Nadu 182 & 195 in 70.3 overs (Balasubramaniam Sachin 51) lost to Andhra 177 & 201 for 6 in 41.2 overs (Abhishek Reddy 70, Karan Shinde 51; Sai Kishore 3/46) by 4 wickets.
Skipper Uday Saharan's unbeaten 117 hands Punjab 8-wicket win over Chandigarh
Young captain Uday Saharan led from the front with an unbeaten 117 to guide Punjab to an eight-wicket win over Chandigarh, their first of the season, in a Ranji Trophy Group B match.
The 21-year-old Saharan, who captained India to runners-up finish in the U19 World Cup in 2024, struck 117 not out off 194 balls with the help of 15 fours as Punjab chased down the target of 227 on the third day to collect six points.
Saharan, who made his first class debut this season, found an able ally in Jashanpreet Singh (57 not out), with whom he added 139 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand to take Punjab to 227 for 2 in 66.4 overs at the Sector 16 stadium.
The right-handed batter had made 31 in the Punjab first innings total of 142 in reply to Chandigarh's 173.
Resuming the day at 168 for 7, Chandigarh folded for 195, leaving Punjab a target of 227 to win the match.
Punjab bowlers Ayush Goyal (4/48) and Harpreet Brar (3/56) ran through the Chandigarh batting line-up. Ankit Kaushik top-scored for Chandigarh with 38.
Saharan had made 126 and 16 against Goa in a drawn Group B match last week.
In another Group B match in Mangalapuram, Chirag Jani struck a brilliant 152 off 204 balls (14x4, 4x6) to help Saurashtra reach 351 for five at stumps after resuming the day at overnight 47 for 1 against hosts Kerala.
Saurashtra, who were bowled out for 160 in their first innings, slumped to 69 for three but Jani and Aarpit Vasavada (74 off 147 balls) stitched 174 runs for the fourth wicket to take their side to a position of strength.
Prerak Mankad then played an aggressive innings of 52 not out from 61 balls, hitting nine fours, and he was at the crease with Ansh Gosai (1 not out) at the end of the day's play.
Saurashtra, who had conceded a 73-run first innings lead to Kerala, were now 278 runs ahead with five wickets in hand with a day left to play. They are winless in three games and desperately need full points to remain in contention for the knockouts from Group B.
Brief Scores:
In Mangalapuram: Saurashtra: 160 and 351 for 5 in 90 overs (Chirag Jani 151, Arpit Vasavada 74, Prerak Mankad 52 batting; Nedumankuzhy Basil 2/46) vs Kerala 233.
In Pune: Karnataka: 313 and 144 for 5 in 49.4 overs (Mayank Agarwal batting 64; Mukesh Choudhary 3/70) vs Maharashtra 300 all out in 99.2 overs (Prithvi Shaw 71, Jalaj Saxena 72; Shreyas Gopal 4/70, Mohsin Khan 3/64).
In Porvorim: Goa: 284 all out in 95.5 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 65; Saransh Jain 4/78) vs Madhya Pradesh 187 all out in 76 overs (Saransh Jain 48, Rishabh Chouhan 43; Vasuki Koushik 5/34).
In Chandigarh: Chandigarh: 173 and 195 all out in 68.5 overs (Ankit Kaushik 38; Ayush Goyal 4/48, Harpreet Brar 3/56) lost to Punjab 142 and 227 for 2 in 66.4 overs (Uday Saharan 117 not out, Jashanpreet Singh 57 not out; Raj Bawa 1/45) by 8 wickets.
Punjab: 6 points; Chandigarh: 0 point.
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