Seasoned batsman Robin Uthappa slammed a strokeful, unbeaten century along with younger teammate Karun Nair as Karnataka rallied from a poor start against Assam on Day 2 of the Group B Ranji Trophy tie in Mumbai on Friday.
The third wicket duo, who joined forces at the fall of openers Mayank Agarwal and R Samarth with only 4 on the board, compiled a 219-run stand to remain unbeaten at stumps in a team total of 223 for 2, still 102 runs adrift of Assam's first innings tally of 325 at the Bandra Kurla Complex ground.
Uthappa, who struck two sixes and 12 fours in his 206-ball innings, remained unconquered on 108 -- his first 20-plus score of the season and his 21st first-class hundred in his 126th game.
Nair, who came into the game with three half centuries in his last three innings in the tournament against Jharkhand and Delhi, converted yet another 50-plus score into his career's eighth hundred in his 37th first class match -- to be not out also on 108.
Dropped on 0 and 85, the 24-year-old batsman remained unconquered after facing 198 balls and with the help of 13 hits to the fence.
The duo put to sword the Assam attack which had its tails up after packing off Agarwal and Samarth for ducks in the second and third over respectively, Krishna Das and Arup Das being the respective wicket takers.
The duo took the team to 46 for 2 at lunch, opened out in the second session with aggressive play and then continued to dominate in the final session too.
Earlier, resuming at 268 for 6, Assam were dismissed for the addition of 57 runs. Stuart Binny gave Karnataka an early breakthrough by sending back overnight unbeaten batsman Sarupam Purkayastha in the third over for 59 before leggie Shreyas Gopal mopped up the last three wickets.
Amit Verma, who had an overnight score of 125, was stranded on 166 off 316 balls as he ran out of partners.
Brief scores: Assam 325 (Amit Verma 166 not out, K B Arun Karthick 35, S Purkayastha 59; S Aravind 5 for 70, S Gopal 3 for 74). Karnataka 223 for 2 (R Uthappa not out 108, K Nair not out 108).
Gambhir hits 147 as Delhi score 351/7 vs Odisha
Mohali: Gautam Gambhir kept himself in the hunt for a place in Indian team's first XI against England for the first Test starting November 9 by hitting patient 147 helping Delhi take a substancial first innings lead in the Ranji Trophy group B encounter.
After bowling out Odisha for 237 in the first innings, Delhi rode on skipper Gambhir's 39th first-class ton to reach 351 for seven at stumps on the second day thereby taking a 114-run lead.
Gambhir faced 232 balls hitting 18 fours in the process. He showed a lot of patience, waiting for the loose deliveries. He played some attractive shots square of the wicket, as well as in-front.
He used his feet to good effect against spin duo of left-arm slow bowler Dhiraj Singh and off-spinner Gobind Poddar.
The other significant contributor was Rishabh Pant, who smashed his way to a quick-fire 60 off 56 balls comprising six boundaries and two sixes.
Starting the day at 43 for no loss, Unmukt Chand's wretched run continued as he was caught by Subhranshu Senapati off pacer Suryakant Pradhan's bowling.
Young Dhruv Shorey (29) showed patience as he put up a 71-run stand with skipper Gambhir. Shorey did all the hardwork to be trapped leg before by Poddar's off-break.
Nitish Rana (5) was dismissed cheaply after which young Pant walked in.
Delhi stacked up 114 runs in 19.3 overs thanks to Pant-Gambhir partnership.
Pant was severe on all the bowlers as the title contenders pushed up the rate.
Once Pant was dismissed by Dhiraj, caught by Senapati, and Gambhir was caught by Anurag Sarangi off Poddar, three short of his 150, Delhi were in a spot at 274 for 5 with only 37 run lead.
But Milind Kumar (39 batting) and Sumit Narwal (35) added 56 runs to help Delhi stretch their lead by 100 runs.
Narwal's addition to the team has had its desired effect as his quick-fire knock had five boundaries and a six.
Brief Scores: Odisha 1st Innings 237.
Delhi 1st Innings 351/7 (Gautam Gambhir 147, Rishabh Pant 60, Dhiraj Singh 3/61, Dhiraj Singh 2/65).
15 wickets fall on Day 2 as Bengal lead by 308 runs
Dharamsala: Bengal maintained their stranglehold over Railways by extending their lead to 308 runs during yet another day dominated by seam bowlers in a Ranji Trophy group A league encounter.
On a track where stroke-making has been difficult throughout, Railways may find a 300-plus target pretty difficult to chase down.
After 14 wickets fell on Day 1, the second day saw 15 wickets falling with Railways being skittled out for 105 in their first innings conceding exactly 100-run lead.
Ashok Dinda scalped 5 for 45 in 14 overs which is now his 19th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Amit Kuila and Sayan Ghosh picked up 2 and 3 wickets respectively.
Bengal in their second innings fared marginally better as they ended the proceedings at 208 for 9 with seamers Karan Thakur (3/39), Deepak Bansal (3/40) and Amit Mishra (2/62) sharing the bulk of the spoils.
For Bengal, almost all their top-order batsmen got a start but failed to convert on a track where no batsmen from either side felt settled.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary (48, 71 balls, 7x4) and Test specialist Wriddhiman Saha (44, 75 balls, 9x4) were the two players who looked most comfortable on a seaming track.
Abhimanyu Easwaran (25, 6x4), Sayan Sekhar Mondal (30) and Sudeep Chatterjee (20) got starts but failed to counter swing for a consistent period of time.
What helped Bengal was the 100-run cushion provided to them by another lion-hearted effort from Dinda.
Having scalped a couple of wickets on Thursday, night-watchman Anureet Singh (4) was trapped leg before. The dogged Shivakant Shukla (14) was the next to go as he nicked an away going delivery from Kuila into the hands of Wriddhiman Saha.
Dinda's 4th victim was Mahesh Rawat (9) caught at slips by Chatterjee as Railways were in trouble at 53 for 7.
Skipper Karn Sharma's 40 off 26 balls helped Railwaymen cross 100-run mark.
Dinda's fifth wicket came when he clean bowled Deepak Bansal.
If the pitch and conditions remain same, it will be a difficult chase for the Railways as survival is not the best policy on such a track.
Brief Scores:Bengal 205 and 208/9 (Manoj Tiwary 48. Wriddhiman Saha 44, Sayan Sekhar Mondal 30, Karan Thakur 3/39, Deepak Bansal 3/40)
Railways 105 all out (Karn Sharma 40, Ashok Dinda 5/45).
Andhra bundle out Haryana for cheap score to take lead
Mumbai: Andhra bowlers performed splendidly to skittle out Haryana for a cheap score of 103 in reply to their own modest first innings total of 253 on day two of their four-day Ranji Trophy Group C game at the Wankhede Stadium.
Virender Dahiya and S G Rohilla were the only two batsmen to get past 20 for Haryana who were laid low by medium pacer Siva Kumar's 5 for 25 haul that helped Andhra take a handy 150-run lead.
Kumar was supported well by medium pacer Imandi Kartik Raman and left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt who shared four wickets among themselves.
By close, the southern outfit had increased the lead to 245 by making 95 for 3 in their second essay.
Captain Hanuma Vihari was three short of his second fifty of the game when stumps were drawn and giving him company was experienced campaigner D B Ravi Teja (0).
Earlier in the day, after resuming at the overnight 217 for 6, Andhra were bowled out for 253 with leg-spinner Yuzvindra Chahal picking up a five-wicket haul, only the second of his 24-game first class career.
Brief scores: Andhra 253 (D B Prashanth Kumar 74, G Hanuma Vihari 62, D B Ravi Teja 38, A G Pradeep 44; S M Pahal 3 for 31, Y Chahal 5 for 81) and 95 for 3 (G H Vihari 47 not out, S K Ramesh 33; Mohit Sharma 2 for 10). Haryana 103 (Siva Kumar 5 for 25).
UP reach 147/4 in reply to Gujarat's 347
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh reached 147 for four in reply to Gujarat's 347 all out in their first innings at the close of play on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Group A cricket match.
Openers Samarth Singh (50) and Tanmay Srivastava (45) shared 80 runs between them before Uttar Pradesh lost four wickets in quick succession.
Besides, Umang Sharma (20) and skipper Eklavya Dwivedi (20 not out) were the other notable contributors for Uttar Pradesh.
Young Hardik Patel (3/58) picked up three wickets for Gujarat, while Rush Kalaria (1/23) scalped one victim.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 276 for eight, Chirag Gandhi (87) added 54 more runs to his last night's total and stitched crucial 63 runs with Ishwar Chaudhary (13 not out) for the last wicket to take Gujarat close to the 350-run mark.
Medium pacer Imtiaz Ahmed (5/73) picked up five wickets for Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh still trail Gujarat by 200 runs with six wickets in hand.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat: 347 all out in 110.2 overs (Chirag Gandhi 87; Imtiaz Ahmed 5/73).
Uttar Pradesh: 147 for four in 67 overs (Samarth 50; Hardik Patel 3/58).
Hooda slams 293 in Baroda's 529 all out against Punjab
New Delhi: Young Deepak Hooda was left stranded on a monumental 293 off 354 balls as Baroda were all out for 529 in their Ranji Trophy Group A cricket match against Punjab.
Replying to Baroda's huge total first-innings total, Punjab finished the second day's play at the Feroz Shah Kotla on 121 for one.
Opener Manan Vohra was batting on 67 and the experienced Uday Kaul was unbeaten on 33 when the stumps were drawn. Jiwanjot Singh was the only wicket to fall, bowled by Sagar Mangalorkar, in the 35 overs Punjab batted.
Earlier, Hooda carried on from where he left off on Thursday, batting through the innings to help Baroda notch up a formidable total.
Leading the side as a 22-year-old, Hooda's 598-minute stay in the middle was exemplary, as he struck 25 boundaries and six sixes while maintaining a high strike rate of nearly 83.
At the end of first day's play, Hooda was unbeaten on a career-best 190 as Baroda reached 358 for six.
During his stay at the crease on Friday, Hooda shared 94 runs for the seventh wicket with Swapnil Singh (45), 53 runs for the eighth wicket with Mangalorkar (30) and 52 for the ninth with Murtuja Vahora (19).
Punjab trail by 408 runs with nine wickets remaining in the first innings.
HP 36 all out against Hyderabad, 4th lowest total in 16 years
Guwahati: Himachal Pradesh were sent crashing to 36 all out, the fourth-lowest total in the Ranji Trophy since 2000, by Hyderabad as a staggering 15 wickets fell on day two of the Group C match.
None of Himachal's batsmen got into double digits as seamers M Ravi Kiran and Chama Milind ran through the top-order before legspinner Akash Bhandari snared four wickets without conceding a run to demolish the tail.
Overnight 8/2, Himachal were bowled out in 25 overs at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Hyderabad surpassed Himachal's total with just a wicket down, but seamer Rishi Dhawan picked up six wickets to ensure his team remained in the game.
Owing to Rishi's figures of 6/35, Himachal managed to limit Hyderabad to 99 for seven at stumps, a lead of 63 runs with three first-innings remaining.
B Anirudh was at the crease at stumps, on 44 off 111 balls, having hit seven fours.
The pitch was difficult to bat on, but the low totals were also due to a lack of application from the batsmen.
Batsmen from both sides had a torrid time encountering the uneven bounce, as some of the balls would keep low while some would take off suddenly. As many as nine batsmen, across both innings, were either bowled or lbw. All that the bowlers were required to do was put the ball in the right area.
However, Anirudh showed the rest how to bat on such a wicket.
Maharashtra score 461 in 1st innings against Rajasthan
Hyderabad: Rahul Tripathi fell short of a century by five runs but his knock helped Maharashtra score a big total of 461 all out in their first innings on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Rajasthan.
Opening day's centurion Naushad Shaikh (143) and Tripathi (95) took Maharashtra to 339 after resuming the innings on 280 for three before the former was caught by Ashok Menaria off his own bowling. Shaikh could add just 25 runs to his overnight 118.
The fourth wicket partnership between Shaikh and Tripathi was worth 122 runs. Chirag Khurana (9) then joined Tripathi at the crease but he did not last long as 16 runs later, the new batsman was sent back by TM Ul Haq.
With wicketkeeper Vishant More (62), Tripathi then took the team past the 400-run mark. But his knock was ended five runs short of a century by Aniket Choudhary, leaving the team on 422 for six. Tripathi faced 167 balls from which he hit 10 boundaries and two sixes.
Pankaj Singh (4/62) and Mahipal (2/47) Lomror then picked the remaining four wickets to bowl Maharashtra out for 461.
More was the last man to get out, bowled by the Rajasthan captain Pankaj for 62 which came from 104 balls and was studded with eight boundaries.
In reply, Rajasthan were 76 for two at stumps today, trailing by 385 runs with eight first innings wickets remaining.
Rajasthan lost Vineet Saxena (13) to Samad Fallah while one-down Puneet Yadav (12) was bowled by Mohsin Sayyad, leaving the side on 29 for two. Ashok Menaria (19 batting) then opener joined Manender Singh (31 batting) in the middle and the pair saw the team through to the end of day's play.
Brief Scores:
Maharashtra 1st Innings: 461 all out in 147.4 overs (Naushad Shaikh 143, Rahul Tripathi 95, Vishant More 62; Pankaj Singh 4/62).
Rajasthan 1st Innings: 76 for 2 in 30 overs (Manender Singh 31 batting).
Tripura reduce Goa to 220/8
Bhubaneshwar: Tripura produced a collective bowling effort to reduce Goa to 220 for eight and stand in the verge of taking the vital first innings lead in a Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match,.
Replying to Tripura's 283 all out, Goa still trail by 63 runs in the first innings with just two wickets in hand.
Shadab Jakati (16 not out) and Ganeshraj Narvekar were at the crease when stumps were drawn on the second day of the four-day match.
Opener Swapnil Asnodkar (57) made a fine half-century, while Snehal Kauthankar (43) and skipper Sagun Kamat (380 both got starts before being dismissed.
For Tripura, left-arm orthodox bowler Gurinder Singh (3/40) picked up three wickets while Manisankar Murasingh (2/50) and Bunti Roy (2/67) shared four wickets between them.
Brief Scores:
Tripura: 283 all out in 80 overs (Rajat Dey 87, Abhijit Dey 58; Shadab Jakati 4/67).
Goa: 220 for eight in 81 overs (Swapnil Asnodkar 57; Gurinder Singh 3/40). PTI SSC
Chhattisgarh 179 for nine after Kerala's 207 all out
Jamshedpur: Kerala inched closer to a narrow first-innings lead as they restricted Chhattisgarh to 179 for nine in their Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match.
Kerala had scored 207 all out in their first innings at the Keenan Stadium.
Chhattisgarh went to stumps on the second day at 179 for nine, having scored their runs at less than two an over as spinners Karaparambil Monish, Jalaj Saxena and Iqbal Abdulla ended the day with combined figures of 63-19-110-8.
Five Chhattisgarh batsmen got to 20, but none of them could carry on, with Sumit Ruikar batting on 21 at close of play.
Earlier in the day, Ruikar picked Kerala's last two wickets with his left-arm spin to finish with figures of 5 for 50. Medium pacer Pankaj Rao complemented Ruikar, returning figures of 3/35.
Kerala, resuming on 194 for 8, only managed to add 13 to their total.
Services post 477, J&K reach 96-1 on day 2
Jaipur: Parvez Rasool returned with a five-wicket haul but Services still managed to post a massive 477 in their first innings on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Group C match.
Resuming at an overnight score of 287-3, Services added another 190 runs, courtesy G Rahul Singh (182), who shared a 95-run stand with VS Hathwala (44).
In reply, Jammu and Kashmir reached 96-1 in 34 overs. At the draw of stumps, opener SP Khajuria (34) and ID Singh (30) were at the crease at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Jammu & Kashmir still need 381 runs with nine wickets remaining to take a first innings lead.
Resuming at an individual score of 68, SU Yadav was the first to be dismissed when he was trapped infront of wicket by Ram Dayal in the 93rd over, just after Services reached 300.
Aamir Aziz then removed Hathwala (44) and Nakul Sharma (19) as Services slipped to 421-6.
Parvez then dismissed Rahul in the 123rd over, before moping up the tail as Services were allout in 144.5 overs.
Pranav Gupta and Khajuria gave a good start to J&K, adding 51 runs in 13 overs before the former was dismissed by Raj Bahadur.
Brief Score:
Services 1st innings: 477 allout in 144.5 overs (G Rahul Singh 182; Parvez Rasool 5/117)
Jammu & Kashmir 1st innings: 96/1 in 34 overs (S P Khajuria 34; P Raj Bahadur 1/26).
Twin centuries put TN in control against MP
Cuttack: Kaushik Gandhi and Narayan Jagadeesan hit centuries as Tamil Nadu batsmen sent a hapless Madhya Pradesh bowlers for a leather-hunt to pile up a massive 547 for 7 on the second day and take complete control of their Ranji Trophy Group A cricket match.
Resuming the day at 262 for 4, TN added 285 runs from 89 overs with Gandhi (157) and Jagadeesan (118 not out ) doing the bulk of scoring at DRIEMS Ground at Tangi.
Baba Indrajith made a significant contribution of 68 off 150 balls.
Gandhi began the day at 71 and he added 86 runs on Friday to his individual score and he was the second batsman dismissed.
He also shared 90 runs with Jagadeesan for the sixth wicket. His 157 came from 368 balls and was studded with 24 boundaries.
After Gandhi's departure, Jagadeesan continued with the good work and he shared 91 runs for the seventh wicket with Malolan Rangarajan (37). Jagadeesan's unbeaten 118 came from 196 balls and had eight fours and two sixes.
At the draw of stumps, Aswin Crist was giving company to Jagadeesan on 12.
For MP, Ashwin Das took two wickets while Harpreet Singh got one.
With two days left in the match, TN have shut the door on MP which cannot win the match now. TN can either win the match and or take the first innings lead in case of a draw.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu: 547 for 7 in 174 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 157, Narayan Jagadeesan 118 not out; Ashwin Das 3/111).
Jharkhand in command against Vidarbha
Wayanad: Jharkhand put them themselves in a commanding position as they declared their first innings at 362/8 for a big first-innings, leaving Vidarbha with the Herculean task of saving their Group B Ranji Trophy match.
At stumps on the second day at Krishnagiri Stadium, Vidarbha were 48 for no loss in their second innings, still trailing 209 runs to make Jharkhand bat again.
Vidarbha were all out for 105 in their first innings on Thursday.
Overnight 146/1, Jharkhand rode on an unbeaten century from Ishank Jaggi (112), Pratyush Songh's 86 and opener Anand Singh's 76 to take a big first-innings lead.
Jaggi hit 13 boundaries and two sixes in his 213-ball knock, while Pratyush too found the fence 13 times and faced 134 balls.
Pratyush put on 153 runs for the second wicket with Anand, and 83 runs for the fourth wicket with Jaggi to help Jharkhand take control of the game.
Image: Gautam Gambhir
Photograph: Tony Marshall/Getty Images
