Shorey hits ton in draw vs Assam
Guwahati, Dec 23: Opener Dhruv Shorey continued from where he had left off in the first innings, scoring an unbeaten 150 on the last day to add to his unconquered 252 in the first innings as Delhi managed to secure a draw against Assam in a Ranji Trophy Group B match here on Friday. Shorey, thus, ended up scoring a total of 402 runs and would like to continue his rich form when the team takes on Tamil Nadu in its third Ranji fixture from December 27. The 30-year-old flourished in the company of fellow opener Anuj Rawat (109), who after his first-innings disappointment, scored a century as Delhi lost just one wicket on way to 292 on the concluding day. Earlier, Assam declared their first innings at 443 for 9 after being 435 for 8 overnight. Rishav Das emerged as the highest scorer for his side, scoring 160, while Gokul Sharma (140) was the other centurion. The duo gave Assam the psychological first-innings lead of four runs over Delhi. The day belonged to Shorey and wicketkeeper-batter Rawat who stitched together a 226-run partnership for the opening wicket and made Assam bowlers toil all day long without success. Both the openers scored at a brisk pace with Shorey’s unbeaten 150 coming off just 188 deliveries at a strike rate of nearly 80 and was studded with 18 boundaries and two sixes. Rawat, after being dismissed for 2 in the first innings, scored at a brisk strike rate of 80.74. Shorey was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his massive effort in both innings. (PTI)
Vidarbha beat Tripura by 220 runs
Nagpur, Dec 23: Spinners Akshay Wakhare and Aditya Sarwate shared seven wickets between them to guide Vidarbha to a 220-run win over Tripura, their second consecutive in the Ranji Trophy Group D on Friday. Vidarbha declared their second innings on 379 for 8 after resuming the day at 348 for 6, thereby setting Tripura an improbable target of 345 runs. Ganesh Satish (151) top-scored for Vidarbha in their second innings while wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar made 88. Chasing, Tripura were bowled out for 124 in 51.2 overs with off-spinner Wakhare (4/50) and left-arm tweaker Sarwate (3/45) shining with the ball for Vidarbha. Medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani (2/14) also chipped in with two wickets. This was Vidarbha’s second win on the trot in Group D after having defeated Railways by 194 runs in their opening match. In another Group D match, Punjab and Railways played out a draw. But Punjab took home three points from the contest by virtue of first-innings lead, while Railways had to be content with one point. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh beat Services
New Delhi, Dec 23: Ajay Mandal came up with a splendid all-round show to power Chhattisgarh to a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Services that took the winners three points clear at the top of Group C in the Ranji Trophy here on Friday. Resuming at the overnight score of 145 for 4 with an arrear of 31 runs, Railways provided the resistance through Rahul Singh (71) and skipper Rajat Paliwal (58). But left-arm spinner Mandal, who cracked a century (114) in Chhattisgarh’s first innings score of 389, made inroads on the final day morning session as he ended the duo’s resistance en route to match-winning figures of 14-2-38-5. The 26-year-old ended with match-haul of eight wickets. At the other end, Pankaj Rao claimed 3/48 to help Chhattisgarh bowl out Services for 221 in 61.2 overs, handing them an easy 46-run target. Chhattisgarh cruised home in 12.1 overs without any loss of wicket to seal a bonus point win to return to the top spot, three points ahead of Karnataka who are at the second place on 10. (PTI)