Centurion Shreevats Goswami and Ashoke Dinda’s four-wicket haul without conceding a run has tipped the balance in Bengal’s favour in their match against Assam as both teams fight to consolidate their position. In another important match between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Vinay Kumar and S Arvind have kept Karnataka in the fray as they strive for a win to give themselves a chance for a berth in the quarterfinals.
On the second day of the last round of the league phase of Ranji Trophy 2015-16, Vidarbha’s Aditya Sarvate posted his maiden first-class century in the game against Haryana.
Here is the brief recap of Day 2, Round 9:
Assam vs Bengal: Bengal 444/6 decl (S Goswami 112*, P Shaw 99, G Sharma 2/39, K Das 2/94); Assam 1/4 (A Dinda 0/4) Trail by 443 runs.
With an unbeaten century, Shreevats Goswami (112*) and Pankaj Shaw (99) helped Bengal to 444 for six until Manoj Tiwary declared the innings. Ashoke Dinda then claimed four wickets without conceding a run in two overs to put the visitors in a commanding position in Guwahati.
Three of the pacer's scalps returned for zero while Rahul Hazarika scored a single. Assam had their backs against the wall when play ended for the day.
Maharashtra vs Karnataka: Kar 1st inn 180/10 (M Agarwal 33, A Sanklecha 4/58, N Dhumal 3/46, S Mundhe 3/54); Maha 2nd inn 70/4 (R Tripathi 31*, S Arvind 2/17, Vinay Kumar 2/24) Lead by 102 runs
Bowled out for 180 in the first innings by the Anupam Sanklecha-led attack, Karnataka conceded the first innings lead in their must win game in Pune. While the pacer claimed four wickets, Nikit Dhumal and Shrikant Mundhe claimed three each to push the visitors on the backfoot.
However, skipper Vinay Kumar and S Arvind dealt early blows in the hosts second innings. Both the pacers took two wickets each to leave Maharashtra on 39 for four. R Tripathi and Kedar Jadhav took the home team to stumps on 70 for one.
Team Rajasthan vs Odisha: Raj 1st inn 51/10 (T-ul-Haq 10, A Sahoo 6/33, B Mohanty 4/17); Odi 2nd inn 129/10 (A Sahoo 31, A Choudhary 4/31, Pankaj Singh 4/43); Raj 2nd inn 79/2 (P Yadav 56*, B Mohanty 1/15, A Sahoo 1/28) Need 151 to win
After resuming their first innings on 28 for six, Rajasthan were bowled out for a paltry 51 runs on the second morning. The hosts’ captain, Pankaj Singh and Aniket Choudhary then claimed four wickets apiece as they once again ran through the Odisha lineup. The pacers bowled Odisha out for 129 in their second outing. With his four for 31 in the second innings, Choudhary completed 10 wickets in the ongoing match.
Chasing 230 runs, Rajasthan were 79 for two at stumps courtesy P Yadav. While Sahoo and Mohanty accounted for the openers, the middle-order bat was batting on 56 with T-ul-Haq when play ended for the day in Jaipur.
12 wickets fell in Jaipur on the second day as pacers continued to dominate at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Vidarbha vs Haryana: Vid 1st inn 504/7 decl. (R Jangid 110, A Sarvate 103, H Patel 2/70); Haryana 53/0 (N Saini 25*, C Bishnoi 18*) Trail by 451 runs.
Vidarbha were powered to a hefty 504 for seven declared by Ravi Jangid and Aditya Sarvate. Both the batsmen scored centuries to help the hosts raise a mountain of runs in Nagpur.
During his 182-ball innings, the left-handed Jangid hit three sixes and nine boundaries en route to this third first-class century. Sarvate at the other end struck ten fours and a six during his maiden first-class ton.
The Haryana openers had taken the team to 53 when play ended for the day.
Follow the stars:
Robin Uthappa was bowled by N Dhumal for 23.
Manish Pandey was castled by Srikant Mundhe for six in Karnataka's first innings.
