Pujara racks up 17th double ton in first-class cricket extending Saurashtra's dominance
Cheteshwar Pujara's hunger for runs shone as he notched his 17th double hundred in first-class cricket, leading Saurashtra's dominance against Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy opener.
Pujara's unbeaten 243, supported by Prerak Mankad's all-round performance, guided Saurashtra to declare at 578/4 in response to Jharkhand's 142. Mankad's century and two crucial wickets left Jharkhand at 140/2, trailing by 296 runs.
Pujara's impressive feat ties him with Sutcliffe and Ramprakash and places him behind Bradman, Haymond, and Hendren. With the Ranji Trophy showcasing his prowess, Pujara aims to make a strong case for the upcoming Test series against England.
Brief scores:
At Rajkot: Jharkhand 142 in 49 overs and 140/2 in 45 overs (Kumar Deobrat 74 batting; Prerak Mankad 2/12) vs Saurashtra 578/4 decl in 156 overs (Harvik Desai 85, Sheldon Jackson 54, Cheteshwar Pujara 243 not out, Prerak Mankad 104 not out).
At Solapur: Manipur 137 in 54.1 overs & 114 all out in 55.2 overs (Hitesh Walunj 3/11, Siddhesh Veer 4/10) vs Maharashtra 320 in 81.2 overs. Maharashtra won by innings and 69 runs.
At Nagpur: Services 241 and 155 all out vs Vidarbha 219 and 45/0 in 14 overs (Faiz Fazal batting 20, Sanjay Raghunath batting 25).
At Rohtak: Haryana 100/6 in 52 overs (Rohit Pramod Sharma batting 38; Aniket Choudhary 2/15, Manav Suthar 2/23). Rajasthan (bad light impacted play again).
Aryan Juyal's century helps UP extend lead over Kerala
Skipper Aryan Juyal's splendid century and a remarkable performance by bowlers propelled Uttar Pradesh to a commanding lead of 278 runs on day 3 against Kerala in their Ranji Trophy Group B clash in Alappuzha. Kerala, resuming at 220/6, managed to add just 23 runs before being bowled out for 243, giving Uttar Pradesh a 59-run lead. Pacer Ankit Rajpoot claimed a fifer with figures of 5/64.
In the second innings, UP's Juyal (115*) and Samarth Singh (43) set a strong foundation with an 89-run opening partnership, putting their team in control. Juyal and Priyam Garg (49*) further consolidated with an unbeaten 120-run stand.
Ricky Bhui's ton headlines Andhra's fightback vs Bengal
In another Group B encounter in Visakhapatnam, Ricky Bhui (107) hit an unbeaten hundred to lead Andhra Pradesh's fightback against Bengal, taking the team to 339 for six.
Resuming the day on 119 for 3, Andhra lost only three wickets, with Bhui and captain Hanuma Vihari (51) engaging in an 87-run stand for the fourth wicket.
It was followed by two more decent partnerships, as Andhra trailed Bengal by 70 runs with one day to go.
For Bengal, Akash Deep and Mohammed Kaif have been the stars so far, clutching a couple of wickets each.
Brief scores:
In Alappuzha: Uttar Pradesh 302 & 219-1 (Aryan Juyal 115 not out; Jalaj Saxena 1/52) leads Kerala 243 (Vishnu Vinod 74; Ankit Rajpoot 5/64) by 278 runs.
In Visakhapatnam: Bengal 409 (Sourav Paul 96, Anustup Majumdar 125, Abishek Porel 70; Lalith Mohan 4/134) leads Andhra 339-6 (Hanuma Vihari 51, Ricky Bhui 107; Mohammed Kaif 2/37) by 70 runs.
In Patna: Mumbai 251 (Bhupen Lalwani 65, Suved Parkar 50, Tanush Kotian 50; Veer Pratap Singh 5/45) leads Bihar 100 & 91-6 (Sharman Nigrodh 40; Shivam Dube 4/7) by 60 runs.
In Raipur: Chhattisgarh 327 (Ashutosh Singh 58, Amandeep Khare 116, Shashank Singh 82; Akash Sengupta 2/45) leads Assam 159 & 171-5 (Riyan Parag 82 batting; Jivesh Butte 2/35) by 3 runs.
Puducherry inch closer to big win vs Delhi
Medium-pacer Abin Matthew's brilliant performance (4/30) dismantled Delhi's top-order, putting Puducherry on the brink of a commanding away win in their Ranji Trophy Group D clash in New Delhi.
In pursuit of a 96-run deficit, Delhi found themselves struggling at 84/6 as Matthew dismissed key batsmen, including skipper Yash Dhull and Himmat Singh. Gaurav Yadav (2/39) and Saurabh Yadav (2/43) also contributed with crucial wickets.
Despite a brief resistance from Hrithik Shokeen (19), Delhi concluded the day at 126/8, holding a slender 30-run lead. With just two wickets remaining, Delhi faces an uphill battle on the final day, while Puducherry eyes a comprehensive victory.
MP sniff win vs Uttarakhand
At Dehradun, Madhya Pradesh declared their second innings at 243/3, setting a challenging target of 376 for Uttarakhand.
Yash Dubey's solid 59 and Shubham Sharma's impressive 86 powered the innings.
Earlier, Saransh Jain's splendid century (100) along with Venkatesh Iyer's 89 anchored Madhya Pradesh's first innings as they made 323.
Resuming on 170/6, Uttarakhand folded for 192 with Kumar Kartikeya being the pick of MP bowlers, returning with 4/59.
Facing an uphill task, Uttarakhand ended the day at 7/1, needing 368 runs on the final day.
Brief Scores
At Delhi: Delhi 148 and 126/8; 40 overs (Abin Mathew 4/30, Saurabh Yadav 2/43, Gaurav Yadav 2/39). Puducherry 244; 63.3 overs (Paras Ratnaparkhe 60, Krishna Pandey 44; Hrithik Shokeen 4/46, Himanshu Chauhan 3/60, Navdeep Saini 2/54). Delhi need 30 runs.
At Dehradun: Madhya Pradesh 323 and 243/3 declared; 68 overs (Shubham Sharma 86, Yash Dubey 59, Venkatesh Iyer 53). Uttarakhand 192; 81.5 overs (Dikshanshu Negi 53, Aditya Tare 45; Kumar Kartikeya 4/59, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/42, Saransh Jain 2/46) and 7/1; 3.2 overs. Uttarakhand need 368 runs.
At Vadodara: Baroda 351 and 258/4 declared; 61 overs (Shashwat Rawat 102, Vishnu Solanki 79). Odisha 178 and 103/1; 40 overs. Odisha 103/1; 40 overs (Anurag Sarangi 56, Shantanu Mishra 41). Odisha need 329 runs.
At Jammu: Jammu & Kashmir 100. Himachal Pradesh 120/1; 30 overs (Prashant Chopra 48 batting, Ankit Kalsi 40 batting). Himachal Pradesh lead by 20 runs.
Prabhsimran, Abhishek lead Punjab fightback against Karnataka
Prabhsimran Singh's aggressive century breathed life into Punjab's fight against Karnataka, as they posted 238/3 in their second innings on the third day of the Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match in Hubballi.
Prabhsimran's dynamic hundred, scored off 146 balls with 17 boundaries, was well-supported by opening partner Abhishek Sharma (91). The duo forged a formidable 192-run partnership, reducing Punjab's deficit after conceding a 362-run lead. Despite the spirited effort, Punjab still trails by 124 runs.
Earlier, Karnataka declared their first innings at 514/8 after resuming from 461/6. Prabhsimran's fearless batting earned praise, showcasing powerful shots in the off-side region and contributing crucial runs for his team.
Gujarat in control
Fifties by Manan Hingrajia (52), Umang Kumar (89, 148 balls) and Ripal Patel (81, 71 balls) assisted Gujarat to post a daunting target of 299 against Tamil Nadu at Valsad.
Gujarat recovered from a shaky 38 for three to post a healthy 312 in their second innings.
In their second essay, TN have been reduced to 32 for two.
Meanwhile, no play was possible on the third day of the match between Chandigarh and Railways because of bad light.
Chandigarh were bundled out for 96 in their first innings at the Sector-16 Stadium, and Railways ended the second day on Saturday at 313 for 4.
Brief scores:
At Hubballi: Punjab: 152 all out and 2nd innings: 238/3 in 68 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 100, Abhishek Sharma 91) vs Karnataka 514/8 declared in 140 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 193, Manish Pandey 118, S. Sharath 76; Arshdeep Singh 3/92).
At Valsad: Gujarat 236 all out & 2nd innings: 312 all out in 84 overs (Ripal Patel 81, Umang Kumar 89, Manan Hingrajia 52; Sai Kishore 4/53, Sandeep Warrier 3/51) vs Tamil Nadu 250 all out & 2nd innings: 32/2 in 15 overs.
At Agartala: Tripura: 484 all out & 2nd Innings: 151/5 declared in 33.4 overs (Bikram Kumar Das 45; Darshan Misal 3/48) vs Goa: 135 all out in 48.5 overs (Deepraj Gaonkar 41; AK Sarkar 4/24, Rana Datta 3/41, Mura Singh 3/40) & 2nd Innings: 48/3 in 20 overs.
