Riding on a superb all-round performance by Ravindra Jadeja, Saurashtra thrashed Tripura by an innings and 118 runs to bag a bonus point from their Ranji Trophy Group C game in Rajkot.
Having already choked the Abhijit Dey-led side to 11 for three while following on at the end of Day 2, left-arm spinner Ravindra (5-45) bagged three more scalps on the final day to skittle out the visitors for 86.
Another young left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja gave his senior partner good support from the other end to bag four wickets.
After posting a respectable 307 while batting first, Saurashtra saw a six-wicket haul from Ravindra to bundle out Tripura for 103.
The left-handed all-rounder, who scored a brilliant 91 with the bat, again turned on the heat on Tripura batsmen to shut them out in well under three days.
Sheldon Jackson, who top-scored for the Jaydev Shah-led side with a superb 97, also shared a crucial 146-run fifth-wicket partnership with Man of the Match Jadeja.
Brief Scores:
Saurashtra 307
Tripura 103 and 86 (M Murasingh 36; Ravindra Jadeja 5-45, Dharmendra Jadeja 4-12).
Tamil Nadu spinners win it against Baroda
Chennai: Tamil Nadu's spin troika of Rahil Shah, DT Chandrasekhar and Malolan Rangarajan took full advantage of a Chepauk track that was turning square from the very first day as they defended a lowly target of 122 beating Baroda by seven runs.
Chasing a victory target of 122, Baroda were shot out for 114 in 35.4 overs as the match ended inside two and half days.
Left-arm spinner Shah took 5/43 in 15.4 overs while offie Malolan Rangarajan grabbed 3/38 in 10 overs. Debutant left-arm spinner Chandrasekhar picked 2/33 as he ended with match-haul of six wickets on debut.
In the match, spinners from either sides snared 36 of the 40 wickets that fell while the pacers accounted for two scalps and the other two being run-outs.
Having prepared a bone dry pitch, which showed signs of cracks on the very first day, the strip could be termed as one which borders on being underprepared as some deliveries were turning at right angles, a few jumped viciously off the rough while some of the others kept low.
The testimony to a below standard pitch was the fact that none of the batsmen from either sides got to a half-century and the highest score was Baroda's 159 in the first innings.
On the third day, Baroda batsmen found it difficult negotiate the spin trio as Deepak Hooda was the top scorer with 32.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu 125 & 155.
Baroda 159 & (target 122) 114 all out in 35.4 overs (Deepak Hooda 32, Rahil Shah 5/43, DT Chandrasekhar 2/33, Malolan Rangarajan 3/38).
Services thrash Jharkhand by 9 wickets
New Delhi: Riding on pace spearhead Diwesh Pathania's inspired spell of bowling in the three-day match, Services humbled Jharkhand by nine wickets in a low-scoring Ranji Tophy Group C encounter.
Pathania, who bagged 6 and 7 wickets in the first and second innings respectively, made things easy for the hosts, who completed the formalities on the final day after racing to their 77-run target with well over two session of play left.
Services though missed out on the bonus point after skipper Soumik Chatterjee was trapped LBW for 37 this morning. His opening partner Anshul Gupta remained unbeaten on 34 alongwith Ravi Chauhan (4 not out) to see his team through. But it was Pathania, who hogged the limelight with a Man of the Match effort as his first innings outing at the Palam ground saw him picking 6 scalps and helping the side pack the visitors for 45 runs.
The Pathankot-born player then took 7 wickets bowl out the Kumar Deobrat-led side for 192 after Services also had a mediocre outing in the first innings -- 161 all out.
Services were comfortably placed at 5 for no loss at the end of second day's play, while chasing 77 for win.
Brief Scores:
Jharkhand: 45 and 192 (Saurabh Tiwary 56, Virat Singh 51; Diwesh Pathania 7-64)
Services: 161 and 78/1 in 29.5 overs (Soumik Chatterjee 37, Anshul Gupta 34 not out; Rahul Shukla 1-26).
