Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Ninth Round Day 2 Round-up: Abhinav Mukund, Kuldeep Yadav shine
Karnataka dominate, defending champions Mumbai on the ropes while the games involving teams chasing a quarter-final berth are poised perfectly on a day when players overlooked by the Indian selectors made their performances do all the talking.
Extra Cover: Bhuvneshwar Kumar hits umpire Paul Reiffel on the back of his head with a throw
After the bowlers cleaned up the Gujarat innings with litle fuss, Abhinav Mukund continued his impressive season but fell agonisingly short of his century and yet managed to take his side to a position of strength in their top of the table clash.
Earlier in the day, the Tamil Nadu captain brought himself on to bowl and picked up the last wicket as Gujarat were bowled out for 307. He continued his good form with the bat as he inched closer to another century but fell a run short but helped Tamil Nadu close the day on 154/2 and inch them closer to a first innings lead which will take them through to the quarters of this year’s Ranji Trophy.
Tamil Nadu 154/2 vs Gujarat 307
Kuldeep Yadav may have been overlooked by the Indian selectors but he is certainly on ensuring that they take notice of him in every round of Ranji games this season. While he has dominated with the ball on most occasions, on day two he scored a century that helped Uttar Pradesh post 481 in their first innings.
Kuldeep’s century and partnerships with the tail helped UP post a large total and they got off to the perfect start with the ball as they reduced Baroda to 151/5. But Irfan Pathan scored an unbeaten fifty and is at the crease with opener Kedar Devdhar who is batting on 120* as Baroda trail by 239 runs.
Baroda 242/5 vs Uttar Pradesh 481
In a surprising turn of events, Suryakumar Yadav turned out to be Mumbai’s star performer with the ball as Punjab scored a massive first innings total before dismissing young stars Shreyas Iyer and Armaan Jaffer before the close of play on day two. On the back of a century from Mayank Siddana and fifties from Indian internationals Mandeep Singh and Gurkeerat Mann, Punjab posted 468. In response, Mumbai lost two early wickets and they still trail by 460 runs.
Punjab 468 vs Mumbai 8/2
After impressing with the ball on day one, Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar showcased his all-round skills on day two as he helped Karnataka take a massive first innings lead against Maharashtra. Although Vinay Kumar’s side have already qualified for the quarters, they haven’t let complacency creep in at all. Despite losing Manish Pandey to India, fifties from Samarth R, Pavan Deshpande and an unbeaten 36 from the captain helped them take a 150-run lead with a wicket in hand.
Maharashtra 163 vs Karnataka 313/9
On the back of an unbeaten double century by U-19 star Shreevats Goswami and some lower-order cameos Bengal declared on 475/9 on day two of their clash against Madhya Pradesh. In response, MP lost opener Aditya Shrivatsava on the very first ball of their innings and eventually ended the day without any further loss, still trailing by 456 runs.
Madhya Pradesh 19/1 vs Bengal 475/9 dec
After being shot out for 92 in the first innings and conceding a 145-run lead to Delhi, Saurashtra’s batsmen showed more grit in the second innings but they still only lead by 86 runs having lost half their side. Although KM Parmar is still batting on 140 at the end of day two, Delhi are still on top in this crucial encounter which will decide if Delhi make it to the quarter-final or not.
Saurashtra 92 and 231/5 vs Delhi 237
Brief scores
Group B
Vidarbha 116 vs Team Rajasthan 140 and 10/0
Group C
Tripura 178 vs Haryana 231 and 186/4
Hyderabad 81/5 vs Andhra 190
Himachal 254/2 vs Goa 380
Kerala 31/1 vs Services 322
Chhattisgarh 370 vs Jammu and Kashmir 33/2
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