11th Dec, 2019
Seven outright wins, two double hundreds – a blistering 202 from Prithvi Shaw and a patient 237 from Ganesh Satish – and a promise of the close finish in Dindigul were the highlights from an eventful Wednesday in the Ranji Trophy 2019-20.
Here’s how the action unfolded on the third day.
Rex Singh scalped ten wickets in the match and scored a half-century in the first innings as Manipur defeated Mizoram to open their Ranji Trophy campaign with a six-wicket win at the Videocon Ground in Kolkata on Wednesday to bag six points.
Chandigarh, meanwhile, began their Ranji Trophy journey in some style. The Manan Vohra-led side beat Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 173 runs in under three days to pocket seven points.
Last season’s runners-up, Saurashtra too sealed a five-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh. Skipper Jaydev Unadkat’s six wickets and 40s from Harvik Desai and Prerak Mankad in the second innings helped Saurashtra win the match which was dominated by the pacers who scalped 33 of the 35 wickets which fell in the game.
Odisha bagged a bonus-point win as they opened their Ranji Trophy campaign with an innings and three-run win over Chhattisgarh in Raipur. Rajesh Mohanty, who had picked up six wickets in the first innings, scalped four wickets in the second innings to complete a ten-wicket haul in the match.
Jammu and Kashmir too made a winning start and bagged six points after beating Uttarakhand by 253 runs in the Group C clash in Dehradun. For J & K, Ram Dayal scalped nine wickets in the game and was named Man of the Match.
R Vinay Kumar became only the second pacer to scalp 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy as Pondicherry registered a ten-wicket win against Bihar, bagging seven points.
While Nagaland’s Imliwati Lemtur scalped 13 wickets in the match, the Punit Bisht-led Meghalaya side won the match by 110 runs to pocket six points.
Andhra, who were bowled out for 211 in the first innings, ended the third day’s play at 100/2 against Vidarbha. Earlier in the day, Ganesh Satish’s 237 powered the defending champions to 441, helping them secure a 230-run lead in the first innings.
In the Group B clash in Vadodara, Prithvi Shaw slammed a double ton to put Mumbai in command against Baroda. The right-hander scored 202 off 179 balls, hitting 19 fours and 7 sixes. Suryakumar Yadav, leading Mumbai, then hammered an unbeaten 102 off 70 balls before Mumbai declared their second innings at 409/4. Needing 534 runs to win, Baroda were 74/3 at stumps on day three.
In Dindigul, the Tamil Nadu versus Karnataka match hangs in the balance. While Dinesh Karthik scored a hundred, Karnataka managed to take a 29-run lead in the first innings. However, Tamil Nadu have managed to keep their hopes of winning the match alive, reducing Karnataka to 89/5 in the second innings at stumps on day three.
In the Assam versus Services clash in Guwahati, Assam were reduced to 74/5 in the chase of 242. Meanwhile, Delhi, who were bowled out for 142 in the first innings, put up a solid show in the second innings, ending the third day at 142/1, after Kerala enforced a follow-on in the Group A match in Trivandrum.
In the Hyderabad versus Gujarat match, Hyderabad managed to take a 159-run lead in the second innings, surpassing Gujarat’s 80-run lead on the third day of the game. Meanwhile, Maharashtra, who were reduced to 61/5 in the second innings after Haryana enforced the follow-on, will be fighting to avoid an innings defeat in Lahli.
Punjab, meanwhile, are in a driver’s seat against Rajasthan after the Robin Bist-led side were reduced to 157/8, with a 56-run lead.
In the Plate Group match in Porvorim, Sikkim, who were all out for 136 in the first inning, put up a fight in the second innings, ending the third day at 331/8. But Goa, who enforced a follow-on after scoring 436/6 (declared) are firmly in control of the match.
Uttar Pradesh, who are facing Railways in Meerut, were 23/0 at stumps on the third day and now need 326 runs more to win the match. Jharkhand, meanwhile, have made a solid comeback after Tripura enforced a follow-on. The duo of Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary scored hundreds as Jharkhand recovered from 138/5 in the second innings and now have 200-plus-run lead.