Priyank Panchal propelled Gujarat to a huge first innings total with his maiden triple hundred. Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee joined forces to revive Bengal’s second innings after Dhawal Kulkarni struck early. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh gain first innings lead against Railways and Baroda.
Group A, Round 8 – Day 2 Round-up:Bengal vs Mumbai in Nagpur: Bengal 1st inn 99/10 (S Chatterjee 35, S Thakur 6/31, D Kulkarni 3/22); Mumbai 1st inn 229/10 in 58 overs (S Thakur 25, D Kulkarni 22, A Dinda 5/88, M Kumar 3/56); Bengal 2nd inn 198/3 in 61 overs (M Tiwary 85*, S Chatterjee 67*, D Kulkarni 2/43) Lead by 68 runs
Resuming on 164 for five, Mumbai were bowled out for 229 with a 130-run first innings lead. While captain Aditya Tare was sent back by Mukesh Kumar for 18, Shardul Thakur (25) and Dhawal Kulkarni (22) made valuable contributions with the bat after performing with the ball.
Kulkarni then returned to leave Bengal reeling on 17 for two and a while later Tushar Deshpande ran out AK Raman. Joining Sudip Chatterjee (67*) in the middle with his team on 56 for three, Manoj Tiwary then helped revive the innings. Remaining not out on 85, the captain took Bengal to 198 for three until the end of day’s play with the middle-order bat.
Baroda vs Madhya Pradesh in Dharamsala: MP 1st inn 217/10 in 67.5 overs (D Bundela 86, B Pathan 5/48, I Pathan 2/51); Baroda 1st inn 164/10 in 48.1 overs (D Hooda 61, I Pandey 5/29, P Datey 3/40); MP 2nd inn 126/5 in 41 overs (N Ojha 57, A Sheth 3/43) Lead by 179 runs
After resuming on 31 for two, Baroda succumbed to the Ishwar Pandey-led attack on the second day. The pacer claimed a five-for as he helped bundle out the opposition for 164 and secure a first innings lead. While the Baroda lineup crumbled, Deepak Hooda top-scored for the team with a valiant 61-run knock.
Bowlers continued to dominate through the day as the Baroda attack then left Madhya Pradesh on 126 for five at stumps. A Sheth picked three wickets while S Manglorkar took two as they looked to keep the lineup in check. While batsmen caved in to the attack, Naman Ojha made 57 before returning to the pavilion.
HS Bhatia (27*) was batting with Shubham Sharma when play ended for the day.
Gujarat vs Punjab in Belgaum: Gujarat 1st inn 624/6 decl in 156.4 overs (P Panchal 314*, A Patel 65, B Merai 65, S Sharma 3/126); Punjab 1st inn 20/1 in 6 overs (M Vohra 11*, RP Singh 1/8) Trail by 604 runs
After they resumed their innings on 281 for two in the second morning, opener Priyank Panchal anchored Gujarat to 624 for six until Axar Patel declared the innings. The batsmen, who remained unbeaten on 314 posted his maiden triple century as he set up the game for his side. He became the first player from Gujarat (Ranji team) to score a triple century.
He was ably aided by half-centurions B Merai (65), A Patel (65), R Bhatt (60) and Rush Kalaria (60*) in tipping the balance in Gujarat’s favour. RP Singh then accounted for Jiwanjot Singh to leave Punjab on five for one. With Manan Vohra and night-watchman Sandeep Sharma in the middle, Punjab were 20 for one at stumps.
Uttar Pradesh vs Railways at Rajkot: UP 1st inn 259/10 in 70.3 overs (S Raina 91, S Kumar 53, K Sharma 4/48, A Singh 4/67); Railways 1st inn 213/10 in 79.4 overs (S Wakaskar 74, A Gosh 58, I Ahmed 5/34); UP 2nd inn 64/2 in 27 overs (S Choudhary 36*, A Yadav ¼) Lead by 110 runs
Imitiaz Ahmed claimed a five-for as he helped UP to a first innings lead against Railways. After resuming on 18 for one they were bowled out for 213. S Wakaaskar at the top of the order scored 74 while Gosh made a half-century as they pacer ran through the lineup. Complementing him, Praveen Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav picked two wickets each to tip the balance in UP’s favour. Batting again, UP were 64 for two at stumps with opener S Choudhary at the crease with Kuldeep.
