A summary of Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Odisha quicks Suryakant Pradhan and Sunil Roul shared six wickets among themselves as Bengal were forced to follow-on after being dismissed for just 100 runs on day three of their Ranji Trophy Group A match in Kolkata on Thursday.
Replying to Odisha's first-innings score of 265, the hosts came up with their worst batting display this season, packing up in just 35.5 overs, with Abhimanyu Easwaran (27) being their highest run-getter.
The hosts, however, made amends in the second innings, closing the day at 220 for three -- a lead of 55 runs -- as Easwaran closed in on his 21st first-class century.
The 27-year-old batted patiently after the first-innings debacle, consuming 156 deliveries for his unbeaten 94, while captain Manoj Tiwary was unbeaten on 50.
However, the first session of day three belonged to the Odisha bowlers, who started from where they had left off overnight, taking the remaining eight wickets for the addition of just 61 runs to the Bengal total.
Both Bengal's overnight batter, Easwaran and Pritam Chakraborty, were gone in no time, and from 39/2 they slumped to 58/4.
Pradhan and Roul grabbed three wickets each, with the latter throttling the host batters and giving away just 19 runs in his eight overs.
Bengal batters played far more sensibly in the second innings although Karan Lal departed early. But the other opener, Easwaran, resisted the temptation to score quick runs, taking his time to settle down and then dispatching the loose deliveries to the ropes.
He struck 13 boundaries and was involved in two productive partnerships -- 82 with Sudip Gharami and an unbeaten 103-run stand with Tiwary.
The unbroken partnership between the two top-order batters will be the key if Bengal are to avoid a defeat on Friday.
However, a loss will not impact Bengal's chances this season as they have already secured a quarter-final berth.
Bengal are currently leading the points table with 32 points, while Odisha are seventh in the group with eight points.
Brief scores:
At Kolkata: Odisha 265 vs Bengal 100 in 35.5 overs (Suryakant Pradhan 3/45, Sunil Roul 3/19) & f/o 220 for 3 in 62 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran batting 94, Sudip Gharami 50, Manoj Tiwary batting 50).
At Rohtak: Haryana 223 in 71.3 overs (Kapil Hooda 42, Sumit Kumar 86; Avneesh Sudha 6/51) vs Uttarakhand 125 for 1 in 43 overs (Avneesh Sudha batting 61, Kunal Chandela batting 32).
At Vadodara: Baroda 561 for 6 decl beat Nagaland 130 and f/o 88 in 30.1 overs (Bhargav Bhatt 4/37, Ninad Rathva 4/32) by an innings and 343 runs.
At Nadaun: Himachal Pradesh 15/0 in 4.4 overs vs Uttar Pradesh.
Jadeja caps comeback from injury with 7-wicket haul
Chennai: Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Thursday picked up seven wickets for Saurashtra in Tamil Nadu's second innings to show he was back to full fitness ahead of the all-important Test series against Australia.
The left-arm spinner was in his elements as he ran through the TN batting line-up to lead Saurashtra's fightback after conceding a huge first innings lead in the Ranji Trophy tie.
With the Test series against Australia looming, Jadeja's impressive comeback from injury would be a welcome sign for the team management.
The visiting team was dismissed for 192 in response to TN's first innings score of 324, conceding a lead of 132 runs. However, Jadeja's heroics helped Saurashtra bundle out the home team for 133 in just 36.1 overs in the second innings.
Needing 266 runs for an outright win, the former Ranji champions lost the wicket of opening batter Jay Gohil (0) to end the day at 4 for 1.
Resuming at the overnight 92 for 3, Saurashtra must have pinned hopes on Jadeja coming up with a substantial knock to swell the score. However, the stand in captain could make only 15 (23 balls, 3 fours) before B Aparajith trapped in front of the wicket.
Young left-arm spinner S Ajith Ram and fellow spinner M Siddharth did well for TN, picking up three wickets each to engineer a collapse. From 101 for 3, Saurashtra were bowled out for 192 in 79.4 overs with Chirag Jani (49) being the top-scorer.
In the second innings, Tamil Nadu came up against an inspired Ravindra Jadeja as the crafty spinner made great use of the conditions with the ball staying low to wreak havoc.
Along with fellow spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (3/64), the Saurashtra skipper kept TN batters on the tenterhooks.
The home team slumped to 4 for 2 with Dharmendrasinh Jadeja removing opening batter N Jagadeesan for a duck and the power-hitting M Shahrukh Khan (2).
The 32-year Dharmendrasinh Jadeja then scalped the wicket of Aparajith (4) as Tamil Nadu slipped further. The stylish B Sai Sudharsan, in the meanwhile, batted in a circumspect manner to counter the twin Jadeja menace.
He hit only three boundaries in his 37 (73 balls) as the southpaw tried to rescue TN in the company of B Indrajith, one of the better players of spin in the home line-up.
Once Jadeja got into the act by bowling Indrajith (28, 53 balls, 2 fours), it was Saurashtra all the way. The ace all-rounder returning to competitive cricket after having last played for the country in August, 2022, posed all sorts of problems for the TN batters.
A relentless Jadeja got TN captain Pradosh Ranjan Paul, the in-form player for 8 and then Vijay Shankar, who has scored three tons this season. The lower order simply caved in as the team capitulated from 105 for 6 to 133 all out in the space of five overs.
In 17.1 overs, Jadeja finished with superb figures of 7 for 53 to bring Saurashtra back into contention for a win.
Mumbai fails to secure lead vs Maharashtra
In Mumbai, on a topsy-turvy third day, the home side failed to secure the all-important first innings lead against Maharashtra after being dismissed for 384 despite a gallant effort by Tanush Kotian (93).
Resuming at 187 for 5, Mumbai saw Prasad Pawar complete a well-deserved ton. He went on to score 145 (262 balls, 15 fours) and was involved in two vital partnerships with Shams Mulani (25) and Kotian.
After Pawar was dismissed by Pradeep Dhade (3/80), the onus was on Kotian to try and take Mumbai past the Maharashtra score.
His 169-ball knock which included 9 fours and a six was not enough to enable Mumbai secure the lead.
The tie on the first innings at the Brabourne stadium meant Andhra stand to go through as the second team from Group B behind Saurashtra provided there is no outright result in the Mumbai-Maharashtra game.
In Vizianagaram, Andhra routed Assam by an innings and 95 runs to pick up seven points and improve its tally to 26.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 324 all out and 133 all out in 36.1 overs (Sai Sudharsan 37, Ravindra Jadeja 7/53, D Jadeja 3/64) vs Saurashtra 192 all out 79.4 overs (Chirag Jani 49, S Ajith Ram 3/39, Siddharth 3/44) and 4 for 1 in 4 overs.
In Mumbai: Maharashtra 384 all out and 51 for 2 in 22 overs vs Mumbai 384 all out in 116 overs (Prasad Pawar 145, Tanush Kotian 93, Pradeep Dhade 3/80).
In Vizianagaram: Assam 113 and 153 all out in 37.5 overs (Rishav Das 30, M Madhav Rayudu 4/12, K V Sasikanth 3/34) lost to Andhra 361 all out in 112 overs (Karan Shinde 90 not out, Hanuma Vihari 80, Abhishek Reddy 75, Swarupam Puryakastha 4/48) by an innings and 95 runs. Andhra: 7 points, Assam: 0.
In Hyderabad: Hyderabad 355 all out and 90 for 5 vs Delhi 433 all out in 100.5 overs (Ayush Badoni 191, Yash Dhull 72, Harshit Rana 58, Aniketh Reddy 5/143).
Karnataka thrash Jharkhand by nine wickets
Jamshedpur: Karnataka thrashed Jharkhand by nine wickets at the Keenan Stadium here on Thursday to further cement their position at the top of Group C in Ranji Trophy.
The team, led by Mayank Agarwal, had made it to the quarter-final stage after the previous round of Ranji matches. But following the six points earned from the rubber on Thursday, they have put a huge roadblock in Jharkhand's path to securing a last-eight berth.
Karnataka are now on 35 points, while Jharkhand have 23. Rajasthan (20 points), Kerala (20) and Goa (18) too have a chance of making the last-eight from the group.
Karnataka, who had restricted Jharkhand to 164 in the first innings and then notched up 300 to take a handsome 136-run lead, struck back in the second innings with their veteran off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham grabbing another five-wicket haul.
The hosts were dismissed for 201 in their second essay, giving Karnataka a paltry target of 66 to chase down.
Karnataka achieved victory in the 19th over of their innings with Nikin Jose (42 not out) and Ravikumar Samarth (24 not out) guiding them to the target.
Much of Karnataka's bowling revolved around the 34-year-old Gowtham. He broke partnerships at crucial junctures to ensure Jharkhand batters didn't score big.
Gowtham first dismissed opener Kumar Deobrat, who was caught by Agarwal. The off-spinner then returned to remove the No.3 and No.4 batters -- Kumar Suraj (34) and Kumar Kushagra (36) -- who had started to firm up their partnership.
But with Jharkhand folding up at 201 in 78.5 overs, it was a matter of time before Karnataka finished the job.
While Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed in the first over for duck, Ravikumar Samarth and Nikin Jose ensured no more hiccups as Karnataka earned six more points to take their tally to 35 points.
Brief scores:
At Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 164 and 201 in 78.5 overs (Supriyo Chakraborty 48; Krishnappa Gowtham 5/75) lost to Karnataka 300 and 66 for 1 in 18.1 overs by nine wickets.
At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 531 for 9 decl vs Goa 359 in 92.5 overs (Ishaan Gadekar 80, Snehal Kauthankar 147 n.o.; Ravi Kiran 3/66) and f/o 4 for no loss.
At Puducherry: Puducherry 371 and 34 for 1 in 14 overs vs Kerala 286 in 113 overs (Akshay Chandran 70; Sagar Udeshi 5/62).
At Jodhpur: Services 178 and 276 vs Rajasthan 136 and 107 for 6 in 38 overs (Yash Kothari 72; Pulkit Narang 4/20).
Railways secure bonus point win over Gujarat
Ahmedabad: Left-arm spinner Akash Pandey claimed a career-best six-wicket haul to complement Himanshu Sangwan's menacing spell in the first innings as Railways thrashed hosts Gujarat by an innings and 56 runs in their Ranji Trophy group D match here on Thursday.
Medium pacer Sangwan was the wrecker-in-chief in their first innings as Railways bundled out the home side for 208 in 59.1 overs in the first innings.
Following on, Gujarat's second innings folded for 247 in 69.3 overs with Pandey wreaking havoc this time. Sangwan gave the first breakthrough dismissing Aditya Patel in the first innings.
Gujarat were soon reduced to 33/2 inside 10 overs but thereafter skipper Het Patel rebuilt the innings with a fighting century before Karn Sharma's double blow derailed the home side.
Pandey then returned to clean up the tail to complete a bonus point victory that came with a day to spare. Railways had amassed 508 in their first innings.
Brief Scores
In Ahmedabad: Railways 508. Gujarat 205; 59.1 overs (Heman Patel 39; Himanshu Sangwan 4/75, Karn Sharma 3/38) and following on and 247; 69.3 overs (Het Patel 84, Umang Kumar 42; Akash Pandey 6/65). Railways won by an innings and 56 runs. Points: Railways 7, Gujarat 0.
In Indore: Tripura 362. Madhya Pradesh 159/2; 57 overs (Shubham Sharma 55, Yash Dubey 48 batting, Harsh Gawli 33 batting; Rana Dutta 2/44). Madhya Pradesh trail by 203 runs.
In Mohali: Vidarbha 88/2; 31 overs vs Punjab. No play on day three.
In Chandigarh: Chandigarh 18 for no loss; 6 overs vs Jammu and Kashmir. No play on day three.
