Ranji Roundup, Day 3 Round-Up: Chattisgarh script history, Mumbai beat Tamil Nadu
History was created on the third day of the Ranji Trophy as debutants Chattisgarh scripted a historic win as they thrashed Tripura by 9 wickets. Left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal's 4 for 55 bowled Tripura out for 149 in their second innings on the third day, thus setting a target of 13 runs to achieve for Chattisgarh. Mandal was successful in the first innings as well as he picked up 3 crucial wickets and bowled Tripura out for 118. He ended the match with figures of 7 for 96.
Chattisgarh missed out an opportunity of gaining a bonus point as opening batsman Rishabh Tiwari was dismissed with just 5 runs left to win. Earlier, in the first innings, Ashutosh Singh became the first centurion for the state as he scored 140.
Brief Scores: Tripura 118 & 149 lost to Chhattisgarh 255 & 13/1 (3.5 overs)
In an incredibly tense and nail-biting affair, the 41 time Ranji champions Mumbai defeated Tamil Nadu by 2 wickets. Despite requiring only 97 to win, Mumbai were in all sorts of trouble as Krishnamoorthy Vignesh and Aswin Crist wreaked havoc at the top and left Mumbai struggling at 35-5.
Abhishek Nayyar led the recovery for the reigning champions as he went on to score a match-winning knock of 45 off 56 balls. Balwinder Sandhu played a significant role in the win as he showed his resilience by scoring a stubborn knock of 12 and set up a partnership of 30 runs with Nayyar.
After Sandhu’s departure, Nayyar kept his nerve and took Mumbai over the line. Dhawal Kulkarni was adjudged man of the match for his 10 wicket haul.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 87 & 185 lost to Mumbai 176 & 97/8 by 2 wickets
Punjab’s woes continue as they were bowled out for 215 in their first innings despite beginning the day at 154/4. Uday Kaul and Gurkeerat Singh Mann were the top scorers for Punjab scoring 61 and 66 respectively.
Railways began their 2nd innings on a strong note with Sourabh Wakaskar and Shivakant Shukla each scoring half centuries. They ended the day with a lead of 296 runs with 8 wickets remaining.
Brief Scores: Railways 331 & 180/2 lead Punjab 215 by 296 runs
Uttar Pradesh have a mountain to climb as their neighbours Madhya Pradesh have taken control of the match. As UP began the day at 131 for the loss of 5 wickets, they soon crumbled and were bowled out for 171. Gaurav Yadav and Ishwar Pandey were the stars for MP as they took 7 wickets amongst themselves.
Trailing by 289 runs, Uttar Pradesh were forced to follow-on in their 2nd innings. They got off to a good start thanks to an unbeaten half-century by Tanmay Srivastava. They will be looking to make a comeback tomorrow as they ended the 3rd-day at 118-2.
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