Opener Jiwanjot Singh scored a century on a lively track, even as his senior colleague Yuvraj Singh came a cropper for the second time, as Punjab made an impressive recovery in the Ranji Trophy league encounter against Delhi on Monday.
At stumps, Punjab were 177 for 3, with Jiwanjot unbeaten on 105 and Mandeep Singh on 29, their overall lead extended to 101, after erasing the first innings deficit of 76 runs.
Earlier, Punjab's bowlers did well to restrict Delhi to 150 after being bowled out for 74 in the first innings.
Delhi’s Virender Sehwag (10) failed to get a big score again as he was run-out to a direct throw from Mandeep.
The star of the day though was Jiwanjot, who impressed as he batted with a lot of maturity. He has so far faced 169 balls, hitting 15 boundaries in the process.
The weather on the day was far better than what it was on the first day but the ball still did a fair bit. The younger opener was a picture of confidence during his seventh first-class century.
This is Jiwanjot's second ton of the season after his double hundred against Vidarbha at Mohali.
The opener was lucky once when Sehwag dropped him at first slip off Rajat Bhatia's bowling when he was on 40.
Otherwise, he looked solid and brought up his century with a square cut off Parvinder Awana's bowling.
Jiwanjot shared a couple of vital partnerships -- 65 for the second wicket with Uday Kaul (21) and an unbroken 74 for the fourth wicket with Mandeep.
Yuvraj (4) was again adjudged leg before off Bhatia's bowling and the veteran batsman was again livid with the decision.
Earlier, Unmukt Chand (55) scored a half-century as Punjab bowlers put up a good show to dismiss Delhi for 150 in 45.1 overs. He hit 12 boundaries in his half-century but played a poor shot to be caught behind off Siddharth Kaul.
Kaul (3-49) and Manpreet Gony (3-42) shared the bulk of the spoils, while Sandeep Sharma and Jaskaran Singh got a wicket each.
Sehwag was unlucky as he started with two boundaries but was out when Unmukt called for a quick single. Unmukt pushed a delivery towards short cover and ran but Mandeep's direct throw found Sehwag short of his crease as he ran towards striker's end.
None of the Delhi batsmen showed patience to stay at the crease for long and a lead of 76 was all that they could manage in the end.
Punjab coach Bhupinder Singh Sr was satisfied with the effort of his boys.
"To make a comeback after getting all out for 74 is commendable. We have got a lead of 101 so far and would like to increase it further. All depends on what the conditions are. It helped that it was a bit sunny today but if the conditions are like the first day, it will be difficult to bat," Bhupinder Sr said.
Brief scores:
Punjab: 74 & 177-3 in 52 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 105 batting, Mandeep Singh 29 batting).
Delhi: 150 in 45.1 overs (Unmukt Chand 55, Rahul Yadav 15, Manpreet Gony 3-42, Siddharth Kaul 3-49).
Siddesh Lad's unbeaten 59 keeps Mumbai in hunt for lead
Bangalore: Siddesh Lad and tail-ender Javed Khan kept Mumbai in the hunt for the first innings lead against Karnataka with fighting knocks, as the visitors ended the second day in the Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy match on 217 for 7, just 34 runs behind.
Karnataka pacer H S Sharath and leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal took three wickets each as they cleaned up the top order before Lad got going and brought Mumbai back into the reckoning.
At stumps, Lad and Khan were unbeaten on 59 and 33 runs respectively. Lad hit seven boundaries and a six, while Khan smashed four boundaries and a six as well. They were involved in a crucial 56-run stand for the eighth wicket, which gave Mumbai a glimmer of hope for the first innings lead against table leaders Karnataka.
Siddesh, who has one century under his belt in List A matches, came in when Mumbai were in dire straits at 99 for 5 and Karnataka's 251 appeared an uphill task.
However, the 21-year-old right-hand batsman built invaluable partnerships of 30 and 32 with Doraiswamy Subramanian (15) and Shardul Thakur (18) for sixth and seventh wickets respectively.
When Thakur departed, Mumbai were 161 for 7, 91 runs behind, but Lad and Khan dropped anchor.
To start with, it seemed like a nightmare unfolding for Mumbai, with opener Aditya Tare becoming Sharath's first victim.
What followed was a procession of sorts as the top half of the Mumbai line-up made a quick return to the dressing room.
Big gun Wasim Jaffer (0), last-match centurion Hiken Shah (44), Kaustubh Pawar (15) and Suryakumar Yadav (7), made brief appearances as Sharath in tandem with Gopal got ample support from India discard Abhimanyu Mithun, who bagged one wicket.
Resuming their first innings at 228 for 7 on Day 2, Karnataka's innings folded after the addition of 23 runs.
Right-arm pacer Shardul Thakur picked two wickets in the morning, sending back Mithun (9) and KP Apanna (7), and ending with first innings figures of 4 for 65 in 22.3 overs.
Centurion Lokesh Rahul was the last Karnataka batsman to be dismissed, run-out after adding 13 runs to his overnight unbeaten 120.
Rajasthan make strong reply to TN’s 318
Chennai: Rajasthan made a strong start in reply to Tamil Nadu's first innings total of 318, scoring 89 without loss, on the second day of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match.
Rajasthan openers Siddarth Saraf (43) and Vineet Saxena (41) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day.
Resuming at the overnight score of 231 for 5, Tamil Nadu could do little as Rajasthan’s bowlers came on top.
With the strip helping spinners right from the start of Day 2, Aristh Singhvi and Ramesh Powar were in operation for most part of the innings.
Singhvi was more effective and claimed three wickets, including that of Ramaswamy Prasanna (73), who looked set for a century.
Singhvi lured Prasanna, and the batsman went for a big hit but landed an easy catch to Saxena at the mid-off region.
Prasanna scored 73 from 178 balls, with 10 hits to the fence.
Pankaj Singh, who ruled the roost on Day 1 by claiming four valuable wickets, and Aniket Choudhary shared about 20 overs between themselves on Monday.
Pankaj completed a five-wicket haul by dismissing overnight batsman Vijay Shankar, who scored 60 runs off 150 balls, inclusive of eight boundaries, and put on a 141-run stand with Prasanna for the sixth wicket.
Once, these two batsmen made their exit, only Malolan Rangarajan, wagged his willow, scoring 39 useful runs, before being the last man out.
Captain Balajaoi, Rahil S Shah and Aushik Srinivas failed to cross double digits.
For Rajasthan, Pankaj Singh (5-54), Singhvi (3-83) and Ramesh Powar (2-95) were the wicket-takers.
Venugopal Rao hits hundred for Gujarat
Motera: Venugopal Rao scored a century as Gujarat declared at 479 for 8 and Odisha replied with 111 for 1 at stumps on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Group 'A' match.
Resuming on 287 for 3, overnight batsman Rao, resuming on 68, went on to score a 277-ball 177, laced with 22 fours and two sixes, to put the hosts in a strong position.
The other overnight batsman -- centurion Parthiv Patel – however, failed to add to his overnight total of 109.
Rao played a responsible innings and also put on a solid 93-run stand for the seventh wicket with Jesal Karia, who chipped in with crucial 39.
Rao's dismissal prompted Gujarat to declare at 479.
For Odisha, Jayanta Behera took three wickets for 111 runs.
Odisha began well with Girija Rout (39) putting on 111 with Natraj Behera for the opening wicket before falling lbw to Jasprit Bumrah off the last ball of the day.
Odisha trail Gujarat by 368 runs with nine wickets in hand.
At stumps, Natraj was batting on 64, He is on course for his fourth century in as many innings.
Brief scores:
Gujarat: 479 for 8 decl (Parthiv Patel 109, Venugopal Rao 177; Jayanta Behera 3-111).
Odisha: 111 for 1 in 41 overs (Natraj Behera batting 64).
Services take first innings lead against Railways
New Delhi: Senior batsman Yashpal Singh scored a timely half-century as Services took a 44-run first innings lead against table toppers Railways in a crucial Group B encounter at the Jamia Millia Islamia Stadium.
Having bowled out Railways for 107, Services finished the second day's play at 151 for eight with Yashpal scoring 67.
The 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Soumya Ranjan Swain (32) enabled Services get past Railways' first innings score.
Yashpal played 139 balls, hitting eight fours and a six, while Swain hit four boundaries in 48 balls.
Earlier, Railways lost their last five wickets for only 22 runs as they were bundled out for 107 after being 85 for five overnight.
Medium pacer Nishan Singh (5-21) took three out of the last five wickets to end up with career-best figures.
When Services batted, they were reduced to 60 for three before Yashpal and Swain took charge. Once Swain was out, the later batsmen couldn't put up much resistance.
Yashpal was gone trying to slog leggie Karn Sharma (3-25). Services will hope to get as many runs as possible in order to make Railways toil in the second innings.
Brief scores:
Railways: 107 (Nitin Bhille 21, Nishan Singh 5-21).
Services: 151-8 (Yashpal Singh 67, Karn Sharma 3-25, Anureet Singh 3-44).
Vidarbha score 101 for 1 in reply to Jharkhand's 332
Jamshedpur: Vidarbha fought back to score 101 for the loss of one wicket in reply to Jharkhand's first innings total of 332 on the second day of the four-day Group A Ranji Trophy match at the Keenan Stadium.
At close, Ravi Jangid was batting on 21 in the company of Faiz Fazal (41), who completed 700 runs for the season.
Resuming at 233 for 5, Jharkhand added 99 runs before their first innings ended.
Unbeaten overnight batsmen Kumar Deobrat and skipper Shahbaz Nadeem held fort for a while, stitching a valuable 76-run partnership for the sixth wicket, before Akshay Wakhare struck the first blow of the morning having Nadeem leg before after he had scored 45 runs, which included six fours off 79-balls.
Following Nadeem's dismissal, speedster Varun Aaron (3) and spinner Samar Quadri (0) departed quickly.
SS Rao, who was not out on 14, provided support to Deobrat for some time before the latter edged a catch to Rashmi Ranjan Parida off spinner Sunit Ruikar for 69 (4x7, 6x2).
For Vidarbha, Wakhare emerged the most successful bowler, scalping five wickets, while Shrikant Wag and Ruikar claimed two each.
In reply, Vidarbha got off to a fine start as openers Fazal and Akshay Kolhar (20) paired for 67 runs before Kolhar fell prey to left-arm spinner Nadeem.
Opener Fazal exhibited some decent drives on either side of the field, scoring an unbeaten 41, studded with six fours, off 88-balls in the process, while Jangid was batting at 21 with the help of four fours.
Brief scores:
Jharkhand: 332 (Rameez Neemat 85, Kumar Deobrat 69, Akshay Wakhare 5-82).
Vidarbha: 101-1 (Faiz Fazal 41 batting, Ravi Jangid 21 batting).
Image: Virender Sehwag
