Ranji Trophy Roundup Day 3: Karthik gives Tamil Nadu the edge, Devdhar leads fightback for Baroda
An interesting day of action unfolded across the country in the Ranji Trophy on Saturday with several matches tightly poised at the Day 3. Here’s a round-up of all the action:
1.Maharashtra vs Delhi-Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
The Delhi batsman put forth a good response to Maharashtra’s 635 for 2 declared, finishing Day 3 at 376 for 5. Youngster Rishabh Pant was the star for the latter, smashing a 165-ball 155 which helped them reach that total. Dhruv Shorey and Milind also chipped in with useful contributions as well, but it is still Maharashtra, who continue to have the upper hand, with 259 runs still in hand as the final day beckons.
Brief Score: Maharashtra 635 for 2 declared vs Delhi 376 for 5 (Pant 155, Shorey 71)
2.Tamil Nadu vs Railways- Luhnu Cricket ground, Bilaspur
After ending Day 2 at 161 or 1, Tamil Nadu further strengthened their position in the game with Dinesh Karthik leading the way for them with a blistering 163 off 145 balls after skipper Abhinav Mukund completed his century at the start of the day. Baba Indrajith and Malolan Rangarajan chipped win with half-centuries of their own and they eventually declared the innings at 452 for 8, leaving Services to chase 401 for a win.
Railways, on their part, came out all guns blazing, reaching 108 for 0 in 25 overs to leave the match on a knife-edge.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 121 and 452 for 8 decl(Karthik 163, Indrajith 52) vs Railways 173 and 108 for 0
3.Mumbai vs Baroda- Palam Ground, New Delhi
Led by a fine 145 by Kedar Devdhar and two 66’s by Aditya Waghmode and Deepak Hooda, Baroda put forth a good response in their second innings, scoring 321 for 5 at the end of Day 2 to take a lead 284 runs.
Earlier in the day, Mumbai were bowled out for 323 in their first innings.
Brief Scores: Baroda 286 and 321 for 5(Devdhar 145, Hooda 66) vs Mumbai 323.
4.Karnataka vs Madhya Pradesh-Sports Complex Ground, Noida
A fantastic hundred from 2016 India Under-19 World Cup skipper Ishan Kishan kept Jharkhand in the game in their Ranji Trophy encounter against Karnataka at Noida and they finished at 209 for 6, still 258 runs adrift.
Kishan was unbeaten on 118 at the end of Day 3 with Shahbaz Nadeem for company. Saurabh Tiwary also made a vital contribution of 91, but could not go on further.
Brief Scores: 577 for 6 decl vs Jharkhand 309 for 6(Kishan 118*, Tiwary 91).
5.Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab-Chaudhry Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Lahli
It was Punjab who held all aces at the end of Day 3 at Lahli, as they set Madhya Pradesh a target of 307 to chase in the final innings. They began the day by bowling put Madhya Pradesh for 247 but then found themselves in trouble at 66 for 4 before Yuvraj Singh played a captain’s knock of 76 to rescue them.
They eventually declared at 175 for 9 and then dismissed Mukul Raghav cheaply to leave them at 26 for 1.
Brief Scores: Punjab 378 and 175 for 9 decl(Yuvraj 76) vs Madhya Pradesh 247 and 16 for 1.
Group B
Odisha 228 and 169 vs Saurashtra 186 and 96 for 5
Group C
Tripura 275 and 280 for 1 vs Services 233
Andhra 199 and 122 for 4 vs Chattisgarh 394
Himachal Pradesh 261 and 103 for 4 beat Kerala 248 and 115 by 6 wickets
Hyderabad 192 and 102 for 5 vs Haryana 331