Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Eighth Round Day 2 Round-up: Indian fast bowlers shine
After being bowled out for 99 on day one, Ashok Dinda’s five-wicket haul and fifties from Sudip Chatterjee and captain Manoj Tiwary helped Bengal wrestle the initiative back from reigning Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai on day two of their clash at Nagpur.
Dinda’s five-for helped Bengal bowl Mumbai out for 229 before the batsmen made merry. Captain Tiwary, in particular, impressed with his unbeaten 85, which came at a healthy strike rate as well, as he continues to push for a slot in the Indian middle-order. The job is still not done though as the lead is just 68 but Bengal do have two set batsmen at the crease.
Bengal 99 and 198/3 vs Mumbai 229
Despite bowling out Madhya Pradesh for just 217 on day one, Baroda failed to take the lead on day two as they were dismissed for 164 as only four players got into double digits with Ishwar Pandey picking up a five-wicket haul with Deepak Hooda top-scoring with 61. Irfan Pathan also added 31.
After conceding a lead, the bowlers came back strongly again as Madhya Pradesh was reduced to 126/5 and a lead of just 179 runs having lost half their side. Still, the impressive performance of Ishwar Pandey who notched up another five-wicket haul won’t go unnoticed by the national selectors.
Baroda 164 vs Madhya Pradesh 217 and 126/5
On the back of Priyank Kirit Panchal’s unbeaten triple century, Gujarat posted a massive total before declaring on day two of their clash against Punjab. Even without their captain Parthiv Patel, who played in the third Test for India, Gujarat scored 624/6 declared on the back of PK Panchal's 314 and fifties from four different players including Axar Patel.
His triple century was also his career-best first class score and just bettered the 232 he managed in the last game against Mumbai and continued his run of four consecutive innings with fifty plus score, two of which was been more than 200. In response, Punjab lost their opener before the close of play, still trailing by 604 runs.
Gujarat 624/6 dec vs Punjab 20/1
Despite being bowled out for 200 on day one, Karnataka would have fancied their chances of taking a lead on day of their clash against Saurashtra having taken two wickets at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium in Patiala. But it wasn’t to be, despite Vinay Kumar’s best efforts as an 87 from opener Snell S Patel and a century from Prerak Mankad ensured Saurashtra took a lead.
At the end of the day, Jaydev Shah’s side not only managed to take a lead of nearly 100 but also have four wickets in hand, including the set centurion, Mankad. Holding the slight advantage, Saurashtra will be looking to extend their lead and end Karnataka’s unbeaten streak in this season’s Ranji Trophy.
Saurashtra 297/6 vs Karnataka 200
Both Rishabh Pant and Gautam Gambhir got starts but couldn’t convert as Delhi took the first innings lead on day two against Vidarbha. After the pacers bowled out Vidarbha on day one, Delhi lost Shikhar Dhawan early and were counting on Gambhir and Pant. But both players got to their 20s and were dismissed as Delhi ended the day with a lead of just 67 having lost eight wickets.
Vidarbha 183 vs Delhi 250/8
Brief scores
Group A
Uttar Pradesh 259 and 64/2 vs Railways 213
Group B
Assam 126 vs Jharkhand 316
Odisha 311/9 vs Maharashtra
Group C
Kerala 193 vs Tripura 213 and 17/0
Andhra 159 and 99/3 vs Goa 115 and 276
Chhattisgarh 281 vs Services 224
Hyderabad 328 vs Jammu and Kashmir 156/7
Himachal 101/3 vs Haryana 402