Ranji Group C: Kerala hand Tripura innings defeat, pocket bonus points

Kerala scored an emphatic innings and 77 runs win over Tripura to garner bonus points from their Ranji Trophy Group C match in Agartala on Tuesday.

Resuming at the overnight score of 70 for three after following on, Tripura were bundled out for 196 runs with pacer Sandeep Warrier (5/46) returning with a five-wicket haul for Kerala.

Starting the day still trailing Kerala by 203 runs with seven wickets in hand, Tripura batsmen came a cropper in front of Kerala bowlers with tail ender Manisankar Murasingh top-scoring with a 79-ball 67.

Apart from Sandeep, left-arm pacer Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan scalped three wickets for 61 runs, while out-of-favour India pacer S Sreesanth picked up two wickets giving away 38 runs.

By virtue of this win, Kerala will take home seven points from the match including two bonus points.

Brief Scores:
Kerala: 400 all out in 131.4 overs
Tripura: 127 & 196 in 84.5 overs (Manisankar Murasingh 67; Sandeep Warrier 5/46).

Services beat J&K by 5 wickets to stay in contention

Hosts Services rode on a 71-run fifth wicket partnership between former KKR player Yashpal Singh and Rajat Paliwal to beat Jammu & Kashmir by five wickets to stay in contention for quarterfinal berth in New Delhi.

Yashpal scored 61 with the help of five fours and a six while first innings centurion Paliwal remained unbeaten on 47 with the help of six boundaries as Services reached the required target of 134 in 54.3 overs.

The institutional team now have 26 points from seven games and are on top of group C although they have played a match more than the second-placed Andhra. Only two teams can go through to the next round from group C while three teams qualify from group A and B.

Needing 63 runs on the day, Yashpal and Paliwal didn't take any risks as they quietly went about doing their job.

When Yashpal was finally stumped by glovesman Obaid Haroon off left-arm spinner Waseem Raza's bowling, Services were six shy off the target which was knocked off by Paliwal with a boundary off Manik Gupta.

Brief Scores:
Jammu and Kashmir: 85 and 269
Services: 221 and 134/5 (Yashpal Singh 61).

AP, Jharkhand match ends in draw

Andhra Pradesh pocketed three points by virtue of first innings lead after their match against Jharkhand ended in a draw in Dhanbad.

Needing to chase an improbable 143-run target for an outright win at the fag end of the day, Andhra finished at 32 for four in 10 overs in their second innings.

The outcome of the match was already decided after Jharkhand, resuming at 20 for no loss, declared their second innings at 295 for nine, thereby setting the improbable target in front of the visitors.

However, Andhra will take home three points from the match because of a vital 153-run first innings lead.

Andhra scored 410 in their first innings in reply to Jharkhand's 257 all out.

Brief Scores:
Jharkhand: 257 and 295 for 9 in 91.3 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 99, Akash Verma 82; Shaik Basha 6/74)
Andhra Pradesh: 410 and 32 fof 4 in 10 overs.