While Tamil Nadu suffered a defeat, Pondicherry, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Bengal registered victories on the third day of the second round of the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 on Thursday.
Here’s how action unfolded:
Pondicherry and Nagaland pocketed seven points each following their victories against Sikkim and Manipur respectively. While Pondicherry needed just two balls on the third day to complete an innings and 125-run win, Nagaland sealed an innings and 68-run win.
In Group C, Jharkhand also pocketed seven points after they defeated Assam by an innings and 67 runs. Having scored 415/9d after bowling out Assam for 162 in the first innings, Jharkhand bowlers once again came to the party as Assam were all out for 186 in the second innings.
Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, suffered their second successive defeat as Himachal Pradesh registered a 71-run win in Dindigul on the third day of the match. Tamil Nadu restricted Himachal Pradesh to 152 in the second innings. But chasing 216, Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 145 as Akash Vashist scalped seven wickets.
In a Group A match in Trivandrum, Bengal beat Kerala by eight wickets and bagged six points. Bengal had secured a 68-run lead in the first innings and after bowling out Kerala for 115 in the second innings, Bengal chased down the target with ease.
Vidarbha, meanwhile, will be targeting an innings win on the final day of the match against Rajasthan on Friday. After scoring 510/8d, Vidarbha bowled out Rajasthan for 260 in the first innings as Umesh Yadav picked up five wickets before scalping three wickets after enforcing the follow-on.
Ricky Bhui’s unbeaten 144 helped Andhra secure a 153-run lead in the first innings against Delhi despite Navdeep Saini’s five-wicket haul. In the second innings, Delhi lost six wickets for 89 before stumps on day three as Stephen picked up four wickets. Punjab, meanwhile, are closing in on a victory against Hyderabad, who conceded a 201-run lead, were left reeling at 30/5 in the second innings.
Karnataka, who are facing Uttar Pradesh, managed to take the first-innings lead despite Saurabh Kumar’s six-wicket haul. The lower order chipped in with important runs as Karnataka, who were 222/7 at one stage, went past Uttar Pradesh’s first-innings total of 281 before scalping one wicket before stumps.
Saurashtra, meanwhile, took a 231-run lead over Railways as Arpit Vasavada scored an unbeaten 134 after Cheteshwar Pujara’s 69. Railways though will have a chance to draw the match on the final day of the match.
The Madhya Pradesh-Baroda game is heading towards a close finish. Baroda were 114/4 and will need 60 runs more as they seek an outright win on the last day of the match on Friday.
Chhattisgarh, who took a 400-run lead in the first innings, will be chasing a win against Uttarakhand. However, Uttarakhand, who were bowled out for 120 in the first innings, put up a solid fight in the second innings, ending the day at 174/3.
Odisha, meanwhile, will need seven more wickets to complete an outright win against Services in Cuttack. Services, who were bowled out for 271 in the first innings, conceded 269-run lead and at stumps on day three, were 86/3.
The Maharashtra versus Jammu and Kashmir game in Pune is hanging in the balance with the former, chasing 364 runs to win, ended the third day at 192/5.
At the Siechem Stadium in Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh were 143/3 against Mizoram, who scored a mammoth 620/9d in the first innings on the back of Taruwar Kohli’s triple hundred and tons from KB Pawan and Hruaizela.
Chandigarh, meanwhile, secured a 305-run lead and then enforced a follow-on against Bihar after Gurinder Singh’s six-wicket haul. Goa, who are facing Meghalaya in Porvorim, have put themselves in command. Meghalaya conceded a 260-run lead and were reduced to 145/5 in the second innings.