Solapur, Feb 4: Left-arm spinner Parth Bhut did the star turn with seven wickets and fashioned a 48-run victory for Saurashtra over Maharashtra in their Elite Ranji Trophy Group A match here on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Bhut returned excellent figures of 7/44, as Saurasthra bowled out Maharashtra for 164 in their second innings after being set a target of 208 on the third and penultimate afternoon of the match.
Off-spinner Yuvrajsinh Dodiya supported Bhut well with two wickets, while Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who also bowls left-arm spin, picked up one to cap off a fine all-round performance.
Jadeja’s first-innings knock of 72, at a time when his team was desperately looking for someone to bail them out of a precarious situation, and his 118-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Prerak Mankad (52), went a long way in Saurasthra sealing the match in their favour.In another Group A match in Rohtak, Services eked out a one-run win over Haryana after bowling the hosts for 144 in a chase of 146.
Mohit Avasthi ran through the Bengal batting lineup, grabbing seven wickets for 52 runs as Mumbai stormed to an innings and four-run win with a bonus point in their Ranji Trophy Group B match here on Sunday.
Avasthi finished with a 10-wicket haul in the match, having taken 3/63 in Bengal’s first innings, as the hosts were bowled out for 209 in their second innings after being asked to follow-on.A collective batting effort in the first innings had given Mumbai a formidable 412 at the start of the game, which allowed them to dominate Bengal.The hosts, despite a valiant 109 from Anustup Majumdar, had folded up for 199, giving Mumbai a first-innings lead of 213 runs, following which they enforced the follow-on.
The 31-year-old right-arm pacer Avasthi not only recorded his third five-for in the five Ranji matches so far this season, he also grabbed his third Player-of-the-Match award.
At the Moin ul Haq Stadium in Patna, hosts Bihar were staring at a massive defeat at the hands of Andhra at stumps on the third day.
Bihar were precariously placed at 111/8 in their second innings, trailing by another 170 runs, with Andhra closing in on a victory by an innings.Bihar had made 182 in the first innings and conceded a 281-run lead after Andhra posted 463, powered by Nithish Kumar Reddy’s 159.
In the second innings, Bihar were left struggling as Andhra bowlers Lalith Mohan (4/27) and KV Sasikanth (3/8) shared seven wickets to continue the domination for their side.At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Ranchi, hosts Chhattisgarh conceded a slender 38-run lead against visiting side Kerala, who had taken their overall lead to 100 runs by the end of the day’s play.
Having posted 350 in their first innings, Kerala bowled out Chhattisgarh for 312 despite a fine 118 from KD Eknath. For the visitors, Nidheesh MD and Jalaj Saxena took three wickets apiece while Basil Thampi took two.
In reply, Kerala reached 69/2 at stumps on the third day’s play with opening batsman Rohan Kunnummal making an aggressive 36 which included six hits to the fence.
Meanwhile, the run-fest continued at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur with visiting side Assam reaching 316/2 in reply to home team Uttar Pradesh’s total of 548/8 declared. (PTI)
