GROUP A
Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra slams double-ton against Baroda
Vadodara, Nov 9: Young wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra completed a brilliant double century as Jharkhand scored a mammoth 500-plus score and struck early blows to put Baroda on the mat, in their Ranji Trophy Group A match here on Sunday.
Playing in his 29th first-class match, the 21-year-old Kushagra who was bought by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2024 for an eye-popping Rs 7.2 crore before he moved to Gujarat Titans in for IPL 2025, struck 234 off 367 balls as Jharkhand were bowled out for 506 in 140 overs on day 2 of the match.Jharkhand right-arm pacer Sahil Raj (2/15) then reduced Baroda to 78 for three as the table-toppers tightened their grip on the opponents.Jharkhand, who were 327 for five on day one, made the Baroda bowlers toil with overnight batter Kushagra, who had scored 133 on Day One, completing a double ton and sharing a 118-run partnership with Sahil Raj (39) for the seventh wicket.
Kushagra was unlucky to miss out on his career-best first-class score of 266 as he was dismissed by Bhargav Bhatt. Kushagra smashed 23 boundaries and four sixes during his nearly two-day long stay at the crease.
His dismissal saw the Jharkhand tail add just seven runs before their innings came to an end.Baroda suffered an early jolt with Sahil dismissing Jyotsnil Singh for a first-ball duck before he had Sukrit Pandey for 6. With opener Shivalik Sharma too departing on 23, Baroda were precariously placed at 35 for 3.However, Shashwat Rawat (20 not out) and Vishnu Solanki (28 not out) batted out the remaining overs with some gritty play. Baroda are trailing Jharkhand by 428 runs.
Brief Scores: In Vadodara: Jharkhand 506 all out in 140 overs (Kumar Kushagra 234, Virat Singh 46, Robin Minz 79; Mahesh Pithiya 3/156, Rasikh Dar Salam 2/83, Bhargav Bhatt 3/123) vs Baroda 78 for 3 in 31 overs (Sahil Raj 2/15).In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 535 for 6 decl in 138.4 overs (Abhishek Goswami 55, Madhav Kaushik 185, Aryan Juyal 140, Shivam Mavi 101 not out; Rongsen Jonathan 4/150) vs Nagaland 77 for 4 in 26 overs (Dega Nischal 42; Shivam Mavi 2/17).In Nagpur: Vidarbha 286 all out in 118.4 overs (Dhruv Shorey 144, Ravikumar Samarth 49; Sambit Baral 3/69, Rajesh Mohanty 2/57) vs Odisha 122 for 6 in 58.2 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 41; Gaurav Farde 2/20). (PTI)
GROUP B
All-round Shreyas Gopal gives K’taka upper hand after Shaw’s 71
Nasik, Nov 9: Maharashtra batter Prithvi Shaw struck a fighting half-century on his birthday but Shreyas Gopal gave Karnataka the upper hand with a four-wicket haul and plucky 71 on day two of the Ranji Trophy Group B match here on Sunday.
Resuming the day at 257 for five, Gopal (71 off 162) guided Karnataka to 313 all out in their first innings. Captain Mayank Agarwal had made 80 at the top of the order.When Maharashtra came out to bat, leg-spinner Gopal got four important wickets as Maharashtra ended the day at 200 for six, trailing Karnataka by 113 runs.
Shaw, who smashed a double hundred earlier this season, carried Maharashtra’s fight before falling to Mohsin Khan.Jalaj Saxena and Vicky Ostwal were batting on 34 and four respectively.In Thiruvananthapuram, Saurashtra found themselves on the back foot after an underwhelming first innings effort.Kerala were able to make 233 in response, taking the first-innings lead of 73 runs. Aparajith top scored for Kerala with 69 while captain Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the Saurashtra bowlers with four wickets.In their second innings, Saurashtra were 47 for one in 17 over trailing Kerala by 26 runs at close of play. With both teams battling hard and the match finely poised, the third day’s play is set to determine which side seizes the momentum in this closely contested Ranji Trophy encounter. Brief scores: In Mangalapuram: Saurashtra: 160 all out in 55.2 overs (Jay Gohil 84; MD Nidheesh 6/20) and Saurashtra 47 for one in 17 overs vs Kerala 233 all out in 74.5 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 80; Hiten Kanbi 2/53, Jaydev Unadkat 4/42).In Pune: Karnataka: 313 all out in 111 overs (Mayank Agarwal 80, Ravichandran Smaran 54, Shreyas Gopal 71; Jalaj Saxena 4/94) vs Maharashtra 200 for six in 66 overs (Prithvi Shaw 71; Shreyas Gopal 4/46).
In Porvorim: Goa: 284 all out in 95.5 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 65; Saransh Jain 4/78) vs Madhya Pradesh 181 for seven in 73 overs (Saransh Jain 48; Koushik 3/33).In Chandigarh: Chandigarh: 173 all out in 51 overs and 168 for seven in 57.2 overs (Manan Vohra 32, Ankit Kaushik 38; vs Punjab 142 all out in 57.2 overs; Nishunk Birla 4/18). (PTI)
GROUP C
Shankar, Vihari tons put Tripura in command; Bengal rattle Railways
Agartala, Nov 9: Former India batter Vijay Shankar struck a career-best 150 not out at No. 7 to complement Hanuma Vihari’s fine 156 as Tripura piled up a mammoth total to seize control of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Assam, here on Sunday.
Shankar, who switched allegiance from Tamil Nadu to Tripura this season, batted with authority in his first major knock for his new team.
He remained unbeaten on 150 off 143 balls, studded with 14 fours and four sixes, as the hosts declared at 602 for seven.In reply, Assam were 67 for four at stumps on day two, still trailing by 535 runs with six wickets intact. Pacer Abhijit Sarkar impressed for Tripura with figures of 2/10.Earlier, Tripura resumed the day at 316 for four with Vihari unbeaten on 143 overnight. He converted his innings into a fluent 156 (228 balls, 18×4, 2×6) before being dismissed.
Wicketkeeper-batter Sentu Sarkar also notched up a fighting 51 off 98 balls (8×4) to keep the runs flowing.
Shankar later took charge alongside skipper Manisankar Murasingh in an entertaining 87-run stand for the seventh wicket.Murasingh chipped in with a brisk 52 from 54 balls (3×4, 3×6) as Tripura’s lower order continued to dominate.For Assam, Darshan Rajbongshi (3/83) was the pick of the bowlers, while Ayushman Malakar (2/106) provided support. Left-arm spinner Rahul Singh toiled for 40 overs for a solitary wicket.
Majumdar, Gupta tons lift Bengal
In Surat, Bengal pacer Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal produced a fiery spell of 4/17 to leave Railways reeling at 97 for five in reply to Bengal’s formidable 474, brightening the visitors’ prospects for a third outright win this season.Railways still trail by 377 runs with half their side back in the pavilion and two days remaining.The platform was set by Bengal’s Anustup Majumdar (135) and Sumanta Gupta (120), who powered the side to a commanding first-innings total.Gupta’s effort was his maiden first-class century, and the duo’s partnership helped Bengal recover strongly after resuming the day at 273 for five.
Majumdar’s 182-ball knock included 15 fours, while Gupta struck 15 boundaries and two sixes during his 153-ball stay. Later, contributions from Vishal Bhati (36) and Rahul Prasad (40 not out) ensured Bengal crossed the 470-mark. (PTI)
GROUP D
Himanshu Singh leaves HP reeling at 94/7 against Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 9: Lanky spinner Himanshu Singh (3/26) made the most of a spin-friendly surface here to leave Himachal Pradesh reeling at 94/7, trailing by 352 runs in the first innings of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash against Mumbai on Sunday.
Mumbai, who had resumed at 289/5, were bowled out for 446 in the first essay following centuries from Musheer Khan (112) and Siddhesh Lad (127), with all-rounder Shams Mulani scoring 69 (122 balls, 9x4s) and Tushar Deshpande making a late 38.In reply, Himachal Pradesh batters were all at sea when Deshpande had their skipper Ankush Bains (1) and Ankit Kalsi (8) caught behind while Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur pinned Siddhant Purohit in front of the wickets.
But the real damage was caused by right-arm off-spinner Himanshu, who made the most of a spin-friendly track here at the BKC Ground to end the resistance of No 4 Pukhraj Mann (34), and snaffled two more wickets in form of Ekant Sen (15) and Mayank Dagar (5).
Nikhil Gangta (27 not out) was at the crease in company of Vipin Sharma as HP were battling to avoid a follow-on.In the national capital, skipper Paras Dogra (106) and Abdul Samad’s (85) gritty knocks gave visitors Jammu and Kashmir a vital 99-run lead in the first innings against hosts Delhi here on Sunday, who were 7/0 in their second innings and trailing by another 92 runs.After bowling Delhi out for 211 on the opening day, Jammu and Kashmir were left struggling at 31 for three at the close on play.
In Hyderabad, visiting team Rajasthan clambered to 221 for five in reply to Hyderabad’s 364 in the first innings, trailing by another 143 runs. (PTI)
