Ranji Trophy: 4 matches this round that went down the wire
The 25th of December, 2018 witnessed some nail bitters in the Ranji Trophy. The Ranji has always helped players prove their mettle for a place in the Indian side. Consistent performances in the domestic circuit including a very successful campaign in last season’s Ranji Trophy provided Mayank Agarwal with his international debut for the Indian side. The 25th of December witnessed some thrilling games where some teams made outstanding comebacks and looked to pull off a surprise win. The 4 games which went down to the wire are as follows:
#4 Punjab vs Hyderabad (Game Ended in a draw with Punjab needing 14 runs to win with 2 wickets in hand)
Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat. Batting first, Hyderabad put up a total of 317 runs with Mayank Markande picking 6 wickets for Punjab. In the first innings, Punjab fell short by 14 runs as they were bundled out for 303 with Gurkeerat Singh scoring an unbeaten 87.
In the second innings, Hyderabad put up a dominating show as Akshath Reddy scored an unbeaten 161 off 218 balls to put Hyderabad in a comfortable position. Hyderabad declared in a dominating position with the score at 323 for the loss of 3 wickets.
Punjab was given a total of 338 to chase with less than a day’s play. Punjab got off to a flier owing to the batting brilliance from the young batting sensation Shubman Gill. Gill has been in scintillating form at the domestic level.
Gill scored a quick-fire 148 off 154 balls before getting dismissed by Siraj in the 51st over. After his dismissal, Punjab could only score 34 runs in the next 6 overs as they fell short by 14 runs with the match ending in a draw.