20th Jan, 2020
Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh secured wins while Kerala suffered an innings defeat as the second day of the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 came to an end.
Here’s how the action unfolded on Monday:
Meghalaya pocketed seven points after sealing an innings and a 116-run win over Manipur in under two days. Meghalaya, who had reduced Manipur to 18/7 after scoring 235, bundled out Manipur for 27 and enforced a follow-on.
While Sanjay picked up six wickets, Abhay Negi got four wickets. The two continued their good work, sharing the spoils in the second innings, scalping five and four wickets respectively as Meghalaya bowled out Manipur for 92.
Tamil Nadu too completed an innings win against Railways to bag seven points. Tamil Nadu posted 330 runs on the board on the back of Abhinav Mukund’s hundred and fifties from L Suryapprakash, Dinesh Karthik and Baba Indrajith and secured a 254-run lead over Railways after bowling them out for 76 in the first innings.
The pair of R Ashwin and R Sai Kishore, who had shared eight wickets between them, once again joined the forces, scalping three and five wickets respectively in the second innings, as Tamil Nadu bundled out Railways for 90 to secure a win in under two days.
Kerala suffered an innings defeat at the hands of Rajasthan after a twin failure with the bat. Kerala, who conceded a 178-run lead after being bundled out for 90, could only score 82 in the second innings.
Shubham Sharma, who had picked five wickets in the first innings, wreaked havoc in the second innings, scalping six wickets as Rajasthan won the match by an innings and 96 runs to gain seven points.
Chhattisgarh also joined Tamil Nadu, Railways and Meghalaya as they completed an innings win on the second day. Chhattisgarh, after scoring 225 to take a 172-run lead over Tripura, bowled out Tripura for 144 in the second innings on the back of Veer Pratap Singh’s five-wicket haul to seal an innings and a 28-run win.
In New Delhi, Aditya Thakare, who had scalped four wickets on the opening day of the match against Delhi, picked up three more wickets on the second day as Vidarbha, having scored 179 in the first innings, managed to take a 16-run lead. Vidarbha ended the day at 35/0, extending the overall lead to 51. Ishant Sharma had to leave the field after he fell while appealing for an lbw.
Gujarat, who resumed the second day’s play on 277/9, were all out for 281 against Punjab, with Siddharth Kaul scalping the final wicket to complete a five-wicket haul. Arzan Nagwaswalla then ran through Punjab’s top and middle-order, reducing them to 32/5.
However, skipper Mandeep Singh and wicketkeeper Anmol Malhotra shared a 106-run partnership before the former was dismissed by Piyush Chawla for 56. Malhotra though, battled on, scoring an unbeaten 119. But Gujarat managed to secure a 52-run lead in the first innings and were 23/0 before stumps in the second innings.
Assam, who resumed play at 77/1, secured a 69-run lead over Maharashtra, scoring 244, on the back of Rishav Das’ 94. Maharashtra then put up a solid show to end the day at 106/2, with Jay Pande scoring an unbeaten 52.
Bihar, meanwhile, ended the second day at 244/5, taking a 78-run lead over Nagaland after Shasheem Rathour and Babul Kumar scored 81 and 95 respectively on a day which was affected by the rain.
In Kalyani, Manoj Tiwary hammered a triple ton, scoring an unbeaten 303, as Bengal scored 635/7d. The former Bengal skipper hit 30 fours and 5 sixes during his 414-ball stay in the middle. Bengal consolidated their position as they then reduced Hyderabad to 83/5 before stumps.
While Kumar Deobrat and Kumar Suraj scored half-centuries, Mayank Mishra’s five-wicket haul helped Uttarakhand, who ended the second day at 4/0, restrict Jharkhand to 298, limiting the lead to 71 runs.
The Jammu and Kashmir-Odisha game, meanwhile, headed towards an interesting finish after Odisha, after being bowled out for 161, secured a 37-run lead. J & K bowlers though still managed to keep their side in the hunt, reducing Odisha to 136/7 before stumps.
Services, who resumed play at 63/6, added 34 runs to their overnight score as Haryana secured a 79-run lead in the first innings. However, Services did not let Haryana score big and bowled them out for 133 before stumps on the second day.
In Puducherry, R Vinay Kumar scalped six wickets as Pondicherry bowled out Arunachal Pradesh for 192 in the first innings to take a 17-run lead. Paras Dogra’s 61 then guided Pondicherry to 264/7 at the close of play on day two, extending their overall lead to 281 runs.
Chandigarh, meanwhile, rode on Shivam Bhambri’s unbeaten 148 and Manan Vohra’s 102 to end the second day at 310/3 to secure a first-innings lead of 59 runs over Goa. Mizoram, who are facing Sikkim in Bhubaneshwar, were reduced to 112/5 and need 130 runs more to win the game.
Baroda made a strong start after Himachal Pradesh scored 496. Baroda, in reply, ended the second day at 150/2 on the back of Vishnu Solanki’s unbeaten 85.
In Indore, Gourav Yadav scalped five wickets but Sheldon Jackson’s 186 guided Saurashtra to 344 against Madhya Pradesh. In response, Madhya Pradesh were reduced to 98/5 before Yash Dubey and Venkatesh Iyer’s unbeaten fifties helped their side reach 183/5 before stumps.
At the Wankhede Stadium, Uttar Pradesh pushed Mumbai on the backfoot after scoring a mammoth 625/8d on the back of Upendra Yadav's unbeaten 203 and Aksh Deep Nath's 115. Mumbai, who had to negotiate seven over before stumps, lost two wickets, scoring 20 runs.
