Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different parts of the country.
Bengal bowlers again failed to provide decisive blows as debutant Imran Haroon's century helped Jammu and Kashmir get a point to remain in hunt for a
quarter-final berth in Kolkata.
Set a stiff target of 337 from 76 overs after Bengal declared their second innings for 264/5, Jammu & Kashmir made merry on an eased out Eden Gardens strip with Haroon standing tall with an unbeaten 103 that had nine boundaries and a six.
Haroon made full use of a reprieve on 20 as he put on a 103 opening partnership with Adil Reshi (58; 7x4) before their premier batsman Ian Dev Singh Chauhan came up with an unbeaten 56 to secure one point.
With 11 points from six games, Jammu and Kashmir still have an outside chance while Bengal with 10 points from five games are in the sixth spot, improving from their last position before this round.
Having opted for a three pronged spin attack anticipating a turner, Bengal were severely let down by the strip which neither offered any turn nor bounce as the hosts had to settle for three points on basis of their first innings lead.
The Bengal attack save sporadic bursts from the erratic Ashok Dinda has been below par as they have failed to polish off tail after getting rid of top order. At times they have not been able to get 10 wickets after taking 200 plus lead which would severely dent their quarterfinal hopes.
Disappointed with the way the surface behaved, Bengal skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla said:"It was a good wicket, as far as batting was concerned. I did not see a single ball turning from the 70-odd overs we bowled."
"Yes it's the bowler's job to get the turn but at the same time you expect some help from the pitch. We did not get an iota of support from the pitch but no regrets. There was no help from the wicket so it was a brave decision to set them a target of 336 from 76 overs."
Brief Scores:
Bengal 387 and 264/5 declared 58 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 63, Manoj Tiwary 61, Arindam Das 60).
Jammu & Kashmir 315 and 219/2 (70.2 overs) (Imran Haroon 102 not out, Adil Reshi 58, Ian Dev Singh Chauhan 56 not out).
Points: Bengal 3; Jammu & Kashmir 1.
MP score 277-3, Karnataka grab 3 points in drawn match
Defending champions Karnataka grabbed three points, owing to their first innings lead, after Aditya Shrivastava (108) and Naman Ojha (115) came up with contrasting centuries to help Madhya Pradesh score 277-3 in their second innings on the fourth and final day of the drawn Group A match in Indore.
Karnataka had surpassed Madhya Pradesh's first innings score of 303 on Thursday, reaching 516 for 8 at stumps with Abhimanyu Mithun and Udit Patel at the crease.
Resuming the innings, Karnataka added only six runs to their overnight score as Puneet Datey picked the wickets of Mithun (22) and Patel (5) to complete his four-wicket haul. In their second essay, Madhya Pradesh rode on Aditya and Ojha, who added 179 runs for the third wicket, to dash any hope of an outright win for Karnataka.
Aditya, who had missed out of a century in the first innings, blasted 15 boundaries in his 210-ball innings, while Ojha followed his first innings half-century with a 81-ball 115, which was studded with eight fours and nine sixes. For Karnataka, R Vinay Kumar (1/17), S Gopal (1/77) and KK Nair (1/21) grabbed one wicket each.
Brief Scores:
Madhya Pradesh: 303 & 277/3 in 69 overs. (A Shrivastava 108, N Ojha 115; R Vinay Kumar 1/17).
Karnataka: 522 all out in 172.2 overs (M Pandey 193, S Gopal 124; P M Datey 4/80).
Punjab manage a point vs Gujarat, stay in 2nd position
Title contenders Punjab maintained their second position in the group table despite managing a single point against Gujarat in Ahmedabad.
A match which turned out to be a first innings contest saw Punjab get all out for 362 in reply to Gujarat's mammoth first innings total of 513.
It was match that all-rounder Rujul Bhatt would like to remember as he got five for 44 with his off-breaks after having scored a fine 150 during Gujarat innings. With a deficit of 151 runs, Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel decided enforce follow-on trying for an outright victory which was improbable.
Nothing of that sort happened as Punjab finished at 120 for one when two umpires decided to call off the proceedings in consultation with the two captains.
Punjab remain second in the group with 19 points from six games while Gujarat with 15 from five is fourth in the table.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat: 513/8 decl.
Punjab: 362 all out (Taruwar Kohli 71, Uday Kaul 77, Rujul Bhatt 5/44, Nilesh Chauhan 3/120) & 120/1 (Uday Kaul 67 no, Taruwar Kohli 47 no).
Points: Gujarat 3; Punjab 1.
Saurashtra get a point only despite Pujara ton
Cheteshwar Pujara's 28th first-class century couldn't provide Saurashtra with a first innings lead as Vidarbha got three points by virtue of
huge first innings lead of 284 runs in Nagpur.
Chasing Vidarbha's huge score of 583 for nine declared, Saurashtra could manage only 309 despite being comfortably placed at 205 for two at one stage. Off-spinner Akshay Wakhare took 5/89 in 47 overs.
The last five wickets fell for 58 runs as Saurashtra started the day at 251 for five at stumps on the third day.
Without enforcing follow-on, Vidarbha were interested in getting some batting practice as they scored 116 for two as openers Faiz Fazal (55) and Sachin Katariya (50 no) scored half-centuries.
Brief Scores:
Vidarbha: 583/9 decl & 116/2 (Sachin Katariya 50 no, Faiz Fazal 55).
Saurashtra: 1st Innings 309 (Cheteshwar Pujara 114, Akshay Wakhare 5/89).
Points: Vidarbha 3; Saurashtra 1.
Baroda bag three points against Railways
Baroda bagged the all important three points by taking the first innings lead against Railways on day four morning before the Group A match ended in a dull draw in New Delhi.
Railways, needing 48 runs to get past Baroda's 298, lost their remaining three wickets for 12 runs to end at 263, offering little resistance against the left-arm pace of Irfan Pathan and Gagandeep Singh.
Baroda were 240 for five in their second innings when play was called off. Captain Aditya Waghmode (74) and Hardik Pandya (90) shared 165-runs for the fourth wicket.
Railways play Jammu and Kashmir next while Baroda face defending champions Karnataka.
Brief scores:
Baroda: 298 and 240/5 in 71.2 overs (Aditya Waghmode 74, Hardik Pandya 90; Krishnakant Upadhyay 2/46).
Railways: 263.
Points: Baroda 3, Railways 1.
HP earn three points in a draw against Jharkhand
Pacer Rishi Dhawan took a five-wicket haul as Himachal Pradesh bundled out Jharkhand for 232 to earn a 72-run first innings lead and three points from
the tie that ended in a tame draw on the fourth and final day of their Group C match in Dharamsala.
Resuming on 94 for one, Jharkhand but failed to overhaul the home side's first innings total of 304.
Despite Rameez Nemat (77) and Ishank Jaggi (56) scoring half-centuries each and Saurabh Tiwary putting on 49, Jharkhand fell short.
Dhawan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of five for 90, Vikramjeet Malik (3/53) claimed three wickets. In second innings, HP reached 91 for six before the match ended in a draw.
Brief scores:
Himachal Pradesh: 304 & 91 for 6 in 28.0 overs (Ajay Yadav 3/18).
Jharkhand: 232 all out in 85.1 overs (Rameez Nemat 77, Ishank Jaggi 56, Saurabh Tiwary 49; Rishi Dhawan 5/90, Vikramjeet Malik 3/53).
Image: Jammu and Kashmir batsman Imran Haroon being greeted by Bengal Captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla after his century during Ranji Trophy match at Eden Gardens.
Photo: PTI
