NEWSRajasthan opened their Ranji Trophy campaign with an emphatic 158-run win over Andhra on the final day of their Elite Group E match on Sunday.
Chasing 368 for victory, Andhra were bowled out 209 in 53.3 overs with Shubham Sharma (4 for 32) and Aniket Choudhary (3 for 50) doing most of the damage. Resuming at 100 for four on the final day, Andhra's slim hopes of salvaging the match evaporated quickly as Ricky Bhui fell to Choudhary after having added eight runs to his overnight score.
Yarra Sandeep, the other not-out batsman, fell on the same score of 120 when Anirudh Singh had him caught by Tanveer Ul-Haq for 43. It was all over for Andhra who slipped to 120 for six. Pinnati Tapaswi (44, 6 fours, 1 six) and Manish Golamaru (29) put on 67 runs for the seventh wicket to delay the inevitable.
The last three wickets including that of Tapaswi fell for just one run as Sharma picked up two more scalps while Tanveer finished things off by dismissing C V Stephen (0). In the group's other match, Uttarakhand, who won the toss and sent their opponents Services into bat, bowled them out for 176 in the first innings before making 248 in their outing. Batting a second time, Services only managed 204, leaving their opponents with a victory target of 133.
Skipper Jay Bista remained unbeaten on 87 to guide Uttarakhand to a comfortable nine-wicket win.
Brief scores: Services 176 and 204 lost to Uttarakhand 248 and 136 for 1 in 28.3 overs (Jay Bista 87 not out, Kunal Chandela 25 not out) by nine wickets. Uttarakhand: 6 points, Services: 0.
Rajasthan 275 and 316 beat Andhra 224 and 209 all out in 53.3 overs (Pinnati Tapaswi 44, Yara Sandeep 43, Ricky Bhui 39, Shubham Sharma 4 for 32, Aniket Choudhary 3 for 50) by 158 runs. Rajasthan: 6 points, Andhra : 0.
Pujara fifty lifts Saurashtra out of trouble
Less than 24 hours after being dropped from the India Test squad, Cheteshwar Pujara struck an 83-ball 91 for Saurashtra in their Elite Group D match against Mumbai as both teams agreed for a draw.
Saurashtra were only 48 runs ahead when the stumps were drawn but the lack of time meant Mumbai could not go for an outright victory. Mumbai, 41-time winners, settled for three points from the game for taking the first-innings lead while defending champions Saurashtra bagged one. Bowling his slow left-arm spin to good effect, Shams Mulani returned career-best figures of 7/114, adding to his four wickets in the Saurashtra first innings.
On Saturday, senior batters Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka after an inconsistent run. Pujara has managed just 602 runs at an average of 24.08 in 14 Tests over the last one year.
Pujara, who last scored a Test century on the 2018-19 tour of Australia, got out for a duck in the first innings of this match as Rahane made a hundred. However, on the final day of the match, Pujara played freely and found the fence at will while maintaining a strike rate of over 100. The Rajkot batter struck 16 fours and a six during his stay in the middle.
Wicketkeeper-opener Snell Patel (98) missed out on a century after being caught by Shams Mulani off Dhawal Kulkarni. Other opener Harvik Desai made 62 as the duo added 163 runs for the first wicket in a much-improved batting effort.
Pujara added 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Vishvaraj Jadeja (16). Mumbai had made 544 for seven declared in their first innings and then enforced follow-on on Saurashtra after bowling them out for 220.
Brief scores: Mumbai: 544/7 declared Saurashtra: 220 and 372/9 in 116 overs (Snell Patel 98, Cheteshwar Pujara 91; Shams Mulani 7/114).
Goa: 181 & 394/5d; Odisha: 189 & 239/7.
Bachhav's seven helps Maharashtra thump Assam
Left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav snared seven wickets to help Maharashtra thrash Assam by an innings and seven runs in their Elite Group G Ranji Trophy match.
Asked to follow on after being shot out for 248 in their first innings, Assam were bundled out for a meagre 160 in their second essay, as Bachhav (7/45) spun a web around the opposition batting line-up to give his side a bonus-point win. Bachhav took 11 wickets in the match and played a key role in the victory alongside debutant Pawan Shah, whose double hundred propelled Maharashtra to a mammoth 415 in their first innings.
Assam started on their overnight score of 82/3, with Riyan Parag (56; 6x4) and Sarupam Purkayastha (38; 6x4), who added 72 runs. Manoj Ingle (2/29) triggered a collapse as he sent back Parag, then Bachhav removed Purkayastha as Assam slipped to 144/5. Then it was the Bachhav show, as he ran through the tail at the Chaudhary Bansilal Stadium.
Brief Scores: Maharashtra 415 all out versus Assam 248 and 160 (Riyan Parag 56, Sarupam Purkayastha 38; Satyajeet Bachhav 7/45, Manoj Ingle 2/29). Maharashtra won by an innings and seven runs.
At Sultanpur: Uttar Pradesh 301 all out and 280/6 (Saurabh Kumar 81 not out, Rinku Singh 62 not out; Akshay Wakhare 3/70) versus Vidarbha 548/6 (Faiz Fazal 192, Akshay Wadkar 102 not out; Saurabh Kumar 3/160, Ankit Rajpoot 2/86). Match Drawn, Vidarbha took the first innings lead.
Karnataka settle for draw against Railways
Karnataka and Railways played out a draw in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match while Jammu and Kashmir began on a winning note, trouncing Pondicherry by eight wickets.
Resuming at 63/1, Karnataka slipped from 179 for 2 to 223 for 9 before skipper Manish Pandey declared, leaving the opponent with a 278-run target from 41 overs as Railways finished at 69/4.
Batting on 39, Mayank Agarwal played with restraint and scored 56 before being dismissed by a good catch by Akshat Pandey. R Samarth batted fluently for his 83 (170 balls, 8 fours) and was involved in a half-century stand for the third wicket with K Siddharth. After the exit of Siddharth at 179 and then Samarth at 192, the Karnataka innings saw wickets fall quickly and slid to 223 for 9 before Pandey declared. For Railways, medium-pacer Amit Mishra finished with 4 for 58 while captain Karn Sharma took three wickets.
Railways, in the second innings, slumped to 14 for 3 with debutant Vijayakumar Vyshak (2/16) sending back Mrunal Devdhar (20) and Arindam Ghosh (0). Vivek Singh (18) batted resolutely along with Mohammad Saif (27 not out) to ensure there were no further alarms. Karnataka picked three points for their efforts while Railways earned one point.
In the other match of the day, veteran spinner Parvez Rasool finished with a six-wicket haul, dismissing the last Pondicherry batsman to star in Jammu and Kashmir's win. Resuming at the overnight score of 113 for 9, Pondicherry added 11 runs to the score before Sagar Trivedi (37) became Rasool's sixth victim in the second innings.
Needing 42 runs to begin the season with a win, J&K lost the openers - Qamran Iqbal (8) and Jatin Wadhwan (9) before Shubham Pundir (21 not out) and Ian Dev Singh (6 not out) saw the team home.
Brief Scores: Karnataka: 481 & 223 for 9 in 63.2 overs (Mayank Agarwal 56, R Samarth 83, K V Siddharth 39, Amit Mishra 4 for 58, Karn Sharma 3 for 47) drew Railways 426 in 128.3 overs (Arindam Ghosh 105, Mohammad Saif 84) and 69 for 4 in 33 overs (Mohammad Saif 27 not out, V Vyshak 2 for 16). Karnataka: 3 points, Railways: 1
Pondicherry: 343 & 124 all out in 45.5 overs (Sagar Trivedi 37, Parvez Rasool six for 29) lost to Jammu and Kashmir 426 in 114.1 overs (Qamran Iqbal 96, Abdul Samad 103) and 45 for 2 in 12.4 overs by eight wickets.
Bengal stun Baroda
All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and debutant wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel struck unbeaten fifties as Bengal bounced back after their first-innings debacle to secure a dramatic four-wicket win over Baroda in their Elite Group B opener.
Chasing 349 on the fourth day after being shot out for a paltry 88 in the first innings, Bengal rode on the duo of Ahmed and Porel, who stitched an unbroken 108-run partnership for the seventh wicket to steer their team home.
Resuming on 146/2, Bengal received an early jolt when skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran got out without any addition to his overnight total of 79 in the fourth ball of the day.
There were familiar jitters in the middle with Bengal losing three quick wickets including the duo of Sudip Chatterjee (18) and overnight batter Anustup Majumdar (33) in the space of four balls to be 176/5. Medium pacer Abhimanyu Singh Rajput (3/73) revived Baroda's hopes with the double blow. But Manoj Tiwary arrested the slide with a fighting 37 from 61 balls before becoming Rajput's third victim.
Tottering at 242/6, Porel hit seven boundaries en route to his maiden fifty which Ahmed matched as the pair sealed the issue in 91.3 overs.
Brief Scores:
At Barabati Stadium: Baroda 181 and 255. Bengal 88 and 350/6; 91.3 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 79, Shahbaz Ahmed 71 not out, Abhishek Porel 53 not out; Abhimanyusingh Rajput 3/73). Bengal won by four wickets. Points: Bengal 4, Baroda 0.
At Vilas Cricket Ground: Hyderabad 347 and 269/8 declared. Chandigarh 216 and 183; 50.5 overs (Arslan Khan 68; Ravi Teja 6/41). Hyderabad won by 217 runs. Points: Hyderabad 6, Chandigarh 0.
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