A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
Ankit Kalsi (205 not out) hit his maiden first class double century after Parshant Chopra (171) missed out on the milestone as Himachal Pradesh posted mammoth 663 for three declared against Uttarakhand in their Ranji Trophy Group B contest in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Beginning the day two at 300 for one, the hosts scored at a brisk pace with Chopra and southpaw Kalsi batting together almost for the entire first session in which they added 124 runs for the loss of former.
Chopra was bowled by left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra. The opener hit 19 boundaries in his 383-ball knock.
Kalsi, who had begun the day at 57, kept charging from the other end and competed his 11th first class hundred. His domination of the Uttarakahand bowlers continued unabated as his strike rate kept getting better with runs flowing from his bat.
He faced 270 balls in his unbeaten knock that was laced with 20 shots to the fence.
It was not just Kalsi and Chopra who tormented the bowlers but Ekant Sen hit a blistering 101 off just 124 balls to add to the misery of the visitors.
All top-four batters hit centuries while Mayank Dagar made 56 off 32 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes.
In response, Uttarakhand ended the day at 50 for one, losing skipper Ravikumar Samrath (21). Avneesh Sudha (24) and Vaibhav Bhatt (1) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day.
Brief Scores:
Himachal Pradesh 1st innings: 663/3 dec in 164 overs (Ankit Kalsi 205 not out, Prashant Chopra 171; Yuvraj Chaudhary 1/52); Uttarakhand 1st innings: 50 for 1 in 12 overs. (Avneesh Sudha 24 batting; Vaibhav Arora 1/21).
Other Group B matches:
*In Secunderabad: Gujarat 1st innings: 343 all out; Hyderabad: 222/7 in 75 overs. (Kodimela Himateja 58 batting, Rahul Singh 56; Rinkesh Vaghela 2/35).
*In Jaipur: Puducherry 1st innings: 248 all out; Rajasthan 1st innings: 234 for 6 in 74 overs (Deepak Hooda 105 batting; Yash Kothari 33; Fabid Ahmed 2/37).
*In Nagpur: Vidarbha: 118 and 192/1 in 52 overs. (Atharva Taide 115 not out, Aman Mokhade 53; T Vijay 1/55); Andhra 1st innings: 167 all out.
Baroda take first innings lead against Mumbai
A relentless bowling effort from Baroda helped them take a 76-run first innings lead against defending champions Mumbai on day two of their Ranji Trophy opener here on Saturday.
Resuming their innings at 241/6, Baroda were able to stretch their total to 290, a remarkable recovery after they were reeling on 90/5 at one stages. Off-spinner Tanush Kotian took four wickets for Mumbai.
Mumbai lost Prithiv Shaw early but Ayush Mathre (52 off 71) and Hardik Tamore (40 off 60) forged a 63-run stand for the second wicket.
At that time, Mumbai seemed to be in control but a combination of ordinary shot selection and misfortune saw them lose three quick wickets of Tamore, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (29 off 52) and Shreyas Iyer (0).
Mumbai were all out for 214 in 62.2 overs close to stumps. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt (4/53), off-spinner Mahesh Pithiya (2/55) and left-arm pacer Akash Singh (3/19) landed the timely blows to give Baroda an upper hand in the contest.
Opener Mhatre was Bhatt's first wicket as the batter was caught and bowled after mistiming a cross batted stroke.
Tamore was caught at short leg by Jyotsnil Singh off Pithiya for a regulation bat and pad dismissal.
Rahane looked good in the middle until a freak catch from Jyotsnil at silly point sent him back to the dressing room, as the ball got stuck between the thighs of the fielder.
Iyer then failed to trouble the scorers as a faint outside edge of an away turning ball from Bhatt was pouched by the wicketkeeper. Iyer also couldn't make it count in the Duleep Trophy where he failed to convert 50s on three occasions.
A lethal spell from left-arm pacer Akash Singh resulted in two wickets, reducing Mumbai to 185 for eight.
Shardul Thakur (27 off 39) and Mohit Avasthi (14) showed fight towards the end of the day. Like he often does, Shardul resorted to counter attack to put the pressure back on the opposition, a case in point being the six he hit off Krunal Pandya. He was the last man to be dismissed, caught at deep mid-wicket off Akash.
In the second innings, Raj Limbani came out to bat for Baroda alongside Jyotsnil for two overs and survived.
Brief Scores:
Baroda 1st innings: 290 all out in 103.1 overs (Mitesh Patel 86, Atit Sheth 66 batting; Shams Mulani 3/111, Tanush Kotian 4/61) and 9/0 in 2 overs.
Mumbai 214 in 62.2 overs (Ayush Mhatre 52; Bhargav Bhatt 4/53, Mahesh Pithiya (2/55), Akash Singh (3/19).
In other Group A matches:
In Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir 1st innings: 519 for 9 decl in 150 overs (Shubham Kathuria 255, Shivansh Sharma 106; Hitesh Walunj 4/143). Maharashtra 28/1 in 7 overs).
In Delhi: Services 1st innings: 402 all out in 132.4 overs (Ravi Chauhan 113, Rajat Paliwal 107; Aryan Bora 4/90). Services 119/5 in 41 overs.
Aryan Juyal's 90 leads UP's strong reply to Bengal's 311
Young Uttar Pradesh skipper Aryan Juyal led a determined fightback with a gritty unbeaten 90, guiding his team to 198 for three in response to Bengal's 311 on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Group C clash in Lucknow on Saturday.
The 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, who has previously represented India Under-19 and was part of the Mumbai Indians setup, showcased his technical proficiency throughout the innings.
He was at his resolute best, facing 195 deliveries and struck eight boundaries, anchoring the Uttar Pradesh innings as they trailed by 113 runs.
Juyal formed a solid 83-run opening partnership with Swastik Chikara (41), giving Uttar Pradesh a strong start.
Known for his preference to play on the offside, Juyal was circumspect yet controlled, playing with maturity on both sides of the wicket.
He displayed excellent footwork to counter Bengal's spin duo of Shahbaz Ahmed and off-spinner Writtick Chatterjee.
Bengal struck back, with left-arm spinner Shahbaz breaking the stand by trapping Chikara lbw.
Mohammed Kaif, the younger brother of India pacer Mohammed Shami, then had Priyam Garg (2) trapped lbw, reducing UP to 86/2 as they lost two wickets for just three runs.
However, Juyal found able support from Kolkata Knight Riders vice-captain Nitish Rana, who played an attacking knock of 32 off 59 balls, studded with three boundaries.
The pair added 69 crucial runs for the third wicket before Shahbaz returned to dismiss Rana lbw early in his second spell.
Siddarth Yadav (20 batting) then stood firm alongside his skipper, as the duo saw out the remainder of the day's play before bad light stopped play after 64 overs.
Shahbaz was the most threatening bowler, shouldering the bulk of the bowling workload.
He returned figures of 2/47 from 21 overs, maintaining pressure on the Uttar Pradesh batters.
Kaif also impressed, claiming 1/23 from his 12 overs. Writtick, despite bowling 12 overs, remained wicketless and conceded 54 runs.
Earlier in the day, Bengal resumed their innings at 269/7, with Shahbaz contributing a vital 44 from 80 balls to help Bengal cross the 300-run mark.
Rising left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who was part of the Test squad against Bangladesh, returned to action after a niggle, was exceptional with the ball, finishing with figures of 4/27.
Debutant off-spinner Vipraj Nigam also impressed, claiming 4/81 as Bengal innings lasted 14.2 overs on day two to be bowled out in 96.2 overs.
Brief Scores:
In Lucknow: Bengal 311; 96.2 overs (Sudip Chatterjee 116, Sudip Gharami 90, Shahbaz Ahmed 44; Yash Dayal 4/27, Vipraj Nigam 4/81). Uttar Pradesh 198/3; 64 overs (Aryan Juyal 90 batting, Swastik Chikara 41; Shahbaz 2/47).
In Rohtak: Bihar 78 and 133 (Sharman Nigrodh 32; Jayant Yadav 5/57). Haryana 254; 74.2 overs (Jayant Yadav 55; Himanshu Singh 4/49, Sachin Kumar 3/48). Haryana won by an innings and 43 runs.
In Indore: Madhya Pradesh 232/4 vs Karnataka.
In Thumba: Punjab 180/9 vs Kerala.
Jagadeesan ton fuels strong TN response against Saurashtra
Narayan Jagadeesan's ton and B Sai Sudharsan's 82 helped Tamil Nadu reach 278 for three and take a 75-run lead against former champions Saurashtra after second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match in Coimbatore on Saturday.
Jagadeesan cracked 11 fours to make 100 off 165 balls while putting on 172 runs for the first wicket with Sudharsan, who made 82 off 159 balls with eight fours.
A strong start ensured that Tamil Nadu take a first-innings lead at stumps, in response to Saurashtra's 203.
Pradosh Ranjan Paul (45) and Boopathi Vaishna Kumar (0) were at crease when the stumps were drawn.
In Chandigarh, the hosts were in trouble as Railways set a target of 341 runs for them to win after the second day.
Chandigarh reached 31 for one at stumps needing another 310 runs.
Chandigarh, who had bowled Railways out for 147, folded for a mere 109.
Akash Pandey returned 14-3-38-5 but it was wicketkeeper-batter Upendra Yadav's sensational 124 in the second innings which helped Railways consolidate their hold on the game.
Opener Vivek Singh scored 54 as Railways were bowled out for 307 in the second innings, setting Chandigarh a massive target.
In another Group D tie at Raipur, Delhi made slow progress to reach 177/4 in reply to Chhattisgarh's 343 in the first innings, trailing by 166 runs.
Skipper Himmat Singh reached unbeaten 50 off 72 balls with seven fours and a six, while Harsh Tyagi was on six not out.
At Guwahati, hosts Assam crawled to 109 for four in 47 overs and were trailing by 252 runs in the first essay against Jharkhand.
None of the Assam batters was able to convert their starts with opener Parvez Musaraf top scoring with 35.
Brief scores:
At Coimbatore: Saurashtra 203 trail Tamil Nadu 278/3 in 89 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 82, N Jagadeesan 100, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 45 not out; Jaydev Unadkat 2/48) by 75 runs.
At Chandigarh: Railways 142 & 307 in 66.4 overs (Vivek Singh 54, Upendra Yadav 124; Nishunk Birla 4/79) lead Chandigarh 109 & 31/1 in 9 overs (Shivam Bhambri 24 not out; Akash Pandey 1/10) by 310 runs.
At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 343 in 110.5 overs (Ayush Pandey 89, Sanjeet Singh 77 not out, Ajay Mandal 69; Ayush Badoni 4/43) lead Delhi 177/4 in 49 overs (Himmat Singh 50 not out; Ashish Chouhan 2/25) by 166 runs.
At Guwahati: Jharkhand 361 lead Assam 109/4 in 47 overs (Parvez Musaraf 35, Rishav Das 31; Saurabh 2/20) by 252 runs.
