MATCH REPORT
Follow UsSuved Parkar’s time under the Sun
It is not new for a player to score a century on debut. Many players have done that. But a double century? Well, a 250. That too, in a Ranji Trophy Quarter-final. Suved Parkar had the time of his life at KSCA’s Alur facility as Mumbai pummelled Uttarakhand to submission on Day 2. In the process, he became the 13th Indian and second Mumbaikar after Amol Muzumdar to score a double century on Ranji / FC debut.
There was an understated calm about Parkar, who was in no hurry. His batting oozed class but more importantly, it had a sense of belongingness, which as cliched as it may sound, had a typical Mumbai touch. With Deepak Dhapola and Agrim Tiwari trying to find some purchase off the wicket, it was Parkar’s unrestrained footwork that stood out to help Mumbai to 647/8. At the end of Day 2, Mumbai bowlers reduced Uttarakhand to 39/2, knowing a first-innings draw would be enough to land them in the semis.
Sarfaraz continues to tumble records
Sarfaraz Khan was always a talented youngster but the failure to marry consistency and talent used to be his biggest bugbear. But in the last two Ranji seasons, the way Sarfaraz has managed to push his case is fast approaching a serious business. To put the matter into perspective, the Mumbaikar scored his sixth 150+ score in the last 13 innings, and after bearing the brunt of Parkar, Uttarakhand bowlers had to see a fiery Sarfaraz Khan landing them in a soup.
While Parkar was calm like water, taking his own sweet time to settle down, Sarfaraz was fire. He batted with a strike rate of 74.63 and his 153-run innings was laced with 14 fours and 4 sixes. If he continues to do that, it will be interesting to see the approach of the national selectors in the upcoming home season.
Sudip, Anustup lead Bengal’s charge
Just like Mumbai, Bengal’s middle-order had a crack in the game to dismantle Jharkhand in their wake, with Sudip Kumar Gharami and Anustup Majumdar being the primary wreckers in charge. While Gharami scored 186 runs, he was ably supported by Anustup Majumdar to ensure that Jharkhand’s hopes of having to make amends later were crushed. Bengal also had their sports minister Manoj Tiwary and Abishek Porel to thank for, for the duo added 54* and 68 respectively to guide Bengal to 577/5 at the end of Day 2.
Jharkhand bowlers were listless at the Just Cricket Academy Ground in Bengaluru. Even though the lifeless nature of the deck was to be blamed majorly, they didn’t help the cause by bowling wayward lengths throughout the day and unnecessarily trying to bowl short balls, which eventually played to their hands.
Saurabh Kumar continues his dance with the fortune
A superb control bowler, Saurabh Kumar picked up four wickets in the first innings to leave Karnataka in dire straits in Alur but his performance in the second innings deserves even more applause. On a wicket that aided the bowlers, especially the spinners, it was no big deal but Saurabh’s ability to force the batters to commit errors, just like Axar Patel strangled the English batters in early 2021.
The failure of the Uttar Pradesh batters to hold their forte resulted in a 98-run lead for the home side, but now that the bowlers have reduced them to 100/8, UP can dare to dream again. Day 3 will decide the result for sure but the onus is on the likes of Rinku Singh, Aryan Juyal, Priyam Garg, and Karan Sharma to make sure that their talismanic spinner’s effort doesn’t go in vain.
Shubham Sharma puts MP on top
After a splendid show from their bowlers on an opening day, it was the turn of Madhya Pradesh batters, led by Shubham Sharma (102 not out), to respond strongly against Punjab on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal game on Tuesday. Responding to Punjab's 219 on what appears to be a lifeless pitch, MP rode on a strong start to their innings to reach 238 for 2 at stumps, a 19-run lead with eight first-innings wickets in hand.
Shubham Sharma was the star of the show and stitched a solid 120-run partnership for the second wicket with Himanshu Mantri and frustrated the opposition bowlers. The duo batted for close to 48 overs and inflicted maximum damage to the Punjab bowlers in the process. MP will bank on Sharma once again to guide them to an even better position in order to bat Punjab out of the game.
Photo Courtsey : BCCI Domestic
