Bengal lose three in chase of 177 against Baroda
Bengal will have to show a lot of composure if they hope to defeat Baroda with the hosts -- three down for 53 in their pursuit of a tricky target of 177 in a Ranji Trophy Group A match at the end of third day.
On an eventful third day when 14 wickets fell, Bengal's first innings wound up at 191 after just two runs were added to their overnight score.
They then had their seamers Mukesh Kumar (4/43) and Ishan Porel (3/22) to thank for dismissing Baroda for a paltry 98 in the second innings.
Coming in to bat for the second time, Bengal found themselves in hot waters, losing the entire top order comprising opener Abhishek Das (7), India A skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (9) and Anustup Majumdar (9) cheaply, leaving them in a precarious situation of 53 for three, and a target of 187 looking like an insurmountable task.
With skipper Manoj Tiwary -- a veteran of 135 first-class games, who is nearing the 10,000-run milestone -- still to come and Sudip Gharami holding one end up with an unbeaten 28, Bengal can still turn around their reverses but they will have to bat with a lot of conviction on the final day.
Earlier, Baroda, following their 269 in the first innings, found the going tough in the second essay managing just one score in double digits. Pratyush Kumar's workman-like unbeaten 62 off 149 deliveries and the diligence he showed while facing Mukesh and Porel was the talking point at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground.
The 27-year-old opener, playing only his eighth first-class game, kept his attacking instinct in check to reach his half century and remained unbeaten till he ran out of partners.
Mandeep, Gurnoor ensure first innings lead for Punjab against J&K
Veteran skipper Mandeep Singh and young Gurnoor Brar hit half centuries as Punjab took a vital first innings lead of 46 runs against Jammu and Kashmir in a Group D Ranji Trophy match here Thursday.
Jammu and Kashmir started the third day's play at 176 for six and their first innings folded for 212 in 54.1 overs. The first two days of the match were heavily affected by poor weather.
Baltej Singh, who had taken a match haul of 11 wickets against Gujarat in an earlier game, once again was the pick of bowlers with figures of 5 for 47 in 15.1 overs while veteran Siddarth Kaul grabbed 4 for 82.
Jammu and Kashmir bowlers did put the hosts in trouble by reducing them to 147 for seven but Mandeep (69 off 104 balls) and Gurnoor (64 off 60 balls) added 100 runs to ensure at least three points for Punjab from the game. Their first innings ended at 268.
Gurnoor took the attack back to J&K camp, with five fours and three sixes.
At the end of the day, J&K had lost senior opener Shubham Khajuria to Baltej with the scorecard reading 18 for 1.
Shorey shines bright for Delhi, Andhra players resort to face masks on field amid air pollution
Dhruv Shorey continued to be the shining light in an otherwise dull Ranji Trophy campaign for Delhi as the opener struck his third hundred of the season to put his side on course towards gaining a potentially decisive first innings lead against Andhra here on Thursday.
Shorey (142 batting) put his team in a solid position with the help of Hrithik Shokeen (45) and Himmat Singh (45 batting).
Shorey is now leading the run-scorers chart this season with 744 runs and a few more expected to come on fourth morning.
Fading light forced an early stumps as Delhi reached 300 for four in 93 overs, trailing Andhra by 159 runs. The visitors had made 459 for nine in their first innings.
It was another cold morning at the Arjun Jaitley Stadium and the air pollution made matters worse, especially for Andhra. Two of their players, Ricky Bhui and C R Gnaneshwar were wearing masks on the field.
As a smoggy sky made way bright sunshine, Shorey came into his elements. The 30-year-old, who had made 252 and 150 against Assam, played some exquisite shots on way to reaching three figures.
He was guilty to being stuck on 99 for a bit too long which also led to the run out of Vaibhav Rawal (25). Shorey finally reached the milestone with a flick off left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan. His unbeaten effort comprised 12 boundaries and a six.
With only one day left, getting the first innings lead will be decisive in the game and Delhi would be hoping that Shorey and Himmat extend their unbeaten 90-run partnership.
Delhi, who have witnessed frequent breakdown of their players this season, are already out of the contention for a spot in the knock-out phase.