Ranji Trophy: Thyagarajan Sets Up Hyderabad s Big Win; Kerala, Mumbai, Punjab Also Register Victories

Ranji Trophy: Thyagarajan sets up Hyderabads big win; Kerala, Mumbai, Punjab also register victories

Luhnu Cricket Ground:  Tanay Thyagarajan finished with 11 wickets, after hitting an unbeaten half-century as Hyderabad thrashed Andhra by 267 runs in an Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match in Mulapadu on Wednesday.

Thyagarajan, who had taken five wickets in Andhra’s first innings, returned to claim six more as Andhra, set 398 to win, were dismissed for 130. He was named Player of the Match for the second game running, after having won the award against Tripura last week.

In Thiruvananthapuram, veteran off-spinner Jalaj Saxena’s five-wicket haul helped Kerala beat Odisha by an innings and 36 runs in Elite Group C game. Following on, Odisha resumed on 102/4, and Kerala needed just 23.3 overs on the fourth morning to bowl them out for 143.

Mumbai completed their second successive bonus-point win, beating Himachal Pradesh by an innings and 97 runs in Elite Group D at the Luhnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur, with pacer Mohit Avasthi taking 5-44.

Trailing by 388 on the first innings and made to follow on, Himachal resumed on 144/3 and dragged the contest into the second session of the final day. Vaibhav Kalta (63) and Pukhraj Mann (50) offered stout resistance, but Mumbai’s experienced attack eventually bowled the hosts out for 291.

In New Chandigarh, Aayush Pandey’s gritty 111 could not prevent Chhattisgarh from slipping to a seven-wicket defeat to Punjab. Forced to follow on, Chhattisgarh resumed on 123/3 and, on the back of Pandey’s century and some handy lower-order runs, posted 335. That left Punjab a target of just 86, which they reached in 16.5 overs, with captain Uday Saharan unbeaten on 40.

In the Plate Group, Meghalaya edged Manipur by three runs in a nail-biting finish in Shillong. Chasing 276, Manipur were bowled out for 272 despite half-centuries from Karnajit Yumnam and Rex Rajkumar. Kevin Christopher (3-31), Abhishek Kumar (3-64) and Aryan Bora (2-59) shared the wickets for Meghalaya.

In Pune, Shikhar Mohan’s 127 led a determined rearguard as Jharkhand batted out on the final day to draw with Maharashtra, who took the first-innings lead and three points. Resuming on 130/1 and still 228 runs behind, Jharkhand finished on 344/8. Utkarsh Singh (58 off 139 balls), Aditya Singh (50 off 159 balls) and Virat Singh (41 off 135 balls) all played long, patient knocks to deny the hosts a shot at victory.

Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen picked up 5-143 as hosts Delhi settled for three points after securing a 169-run first-innings lead over Gujarat in a drawn Elite Group C contest at the Palam ‘B’ ground. Having won the toss and declared at 648/6, Delhi bowled Gujarat out for 479 after the visitors resumed on 363/5. Following on, Gujarat were 15/1 when the two sides agreed to call it a draw.

In Jaipur, an unbeaten century from Mohammad Saif helped Railways save their game against Rajasthan. Railways resumed on 305/6 in their first innings but were bowled out for 338, conceding a lead of 159, with Kukna Ajay Singh taking four wickets. Asked to bat again, they reached 176/2 by stumps as Saif (103 not out) and Eshaan Goyal (59 not out) shared an unbroken 157-run stand for the third wicket.

Spinner Parth Bhut claimed eight wickets in the match and was named Player of the Match as Saurashtra took three points from their drawn Elite Group B clash against Karnataka thanks to taking first-innings lead.

Resuming on 99/2, Karnataka declared their second innings at 243/7 in 64.1 overs. KL Shrijith made 52 off 76 balls with five fours, KV Aneesh also reached a half-century, and Karun Nair (37) and Manvanth Kumar (31) added useful runs.

Bhut returned 3-80 from 25.1 overs, including two maidens, while Sammar Gajjar picked up two wickets and Chetan Sakariya and Ankur Panwar had one scalp each, as Karnataka had to settle for one point.

Set 237 to win, Saurashtra comfortably batted out the remaining overs to finish on 137/2 in 42 overs. Chirag Jani anchored the effort with an unbeaten 63 off 117 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes, while Hetvik Kotak made 25 and Jay Gohil was not out on 22. Manvanth and Shreyas Gopal took a wicket apiece for Karnataka.

Bhut returned 3-80 from 25.1 overs, including two maidens, while Sammar Gajjar picked up two wickets and Chetan Sakariya and Ankur Panwar had one scalp each, as Karnataka had to settle for one point.

Article Source: IANS