Jadeja hits ton, Saurashtra take lead
Rajkot: After shinning with the ball, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 178 helped Saurashtra to take first innings lead versus Railways on the second day of their Ranji Elite Group A match here Tuesday. Courtesy Jadeja's knock, Saurashtra lead Railways by 144 runs after they ended the Day 2 at 344/8. After electing to bat, Railways were bundled out for a meagre 200 with skipper Mahesh Rawat top-scoring with 46. For the hosts, Jadeja, a left-arm spinner (4-58), did most of the damage. And Jadeja did not disappoint with the bat too. He hits 16 fours and four sixes in his 326-ball stay at the crease so far. He hammered a listless Railways attack and completed his 100 off 216 balls and 150 in 285 balls, respectively. Jadeja found an unusual partner in number 9 Kamlesh Makwana who made 62.
Milind’S 224 puts Sikkim in command
Dimapur: Continuing his impressive form, former Delhi batsman Milind Kumar struck his second consecutive double century to put Sikkim on top against Nagaland in Plate group fixture. Resuming on his overnight score of 78 in team total of 120/5, Milind hit a stroke-filled 224 from 215 balls (31x4, 3x6) to steer Sikkim to 374 in 82.5 overs. Sikkim then reduced Nagaland to 97/5 in their second innings with Bipul Sharma and Pawan Suyal claiming two wickets apiece to take their side closer to a second successive bonus point victory. The home side still need 95 runs to avoid an innings defeat. In Dehradun, Manipur fought back after conceding a 91-run first innings lead to Uttarakhand with Lakhan Rawat overcoming a first innings failure to post an unbeaten 81. At close, Manipur were 143/1 with a lead of 52 runs.
Tiwary smashes 201* against MP
Kolkata: Skipper Manoj Tiwary silenced his critics by smashing an unbeaten double century before Bengal declared their innings at a mammoth 510/9 against Madhya Pradesh in a Elite Group B match. Resuming at overnight score of 246/4, Bengal plundered a further 264 runs with Tiwary (201 not out) completing his fifth first class double century on the eve of his 33rd birthday. Tiwary began the day on individual score of 31. Madhya Pradesh bowlers had a tough outing despite a five-wicket haul by young Shubham Sharma (5/59). At close on Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh were 15 for no loss with plenty to ponder with two more days to go.
Aaron powers J'khand to 9 wickets win
Rohtak: Jharkhand bowlers led by former India pacer Varun Aaron produced a stellar show for the second time as they thrashed Haryana by nine wickets in the Elite Group C encounter. Jharkhand registered this thumping win on the second day of the four-day encounter, which was a low-scoring thriller. After bundling out Haryana for a meagre 81 in the first innings on Monday, Jharkhand pacers again scuttled their oppostion for 72 in the second outing to contribute in the team's resounding win. Resuming the overnight score of 120/6, Jharkhand managed to add only 23 runs to their total and were bowled out for 143. They had a slender 62-run first innings lead. With just 11 runs needed for an outright win, Jharkhand completed the proceedings in four overs but lost captain Ishan Kishan in the process.
HP tailenders fight against Delhi
New Delhi: A gritty show from the Himachal Pradesh lower-order did not allow Delhi to enforce the follow-on in a Group B match. At stumps on day two, Himachal Pradesh were 216 for 8 in reply to Delhi's first innings score of 317. Delhi captain Nitish Rana will certainly feel that an opportunity to enforce follow on was lost after HP were reduced to 58 for 6. Rishi Dhawan (64, 114 balls) and Ekant Sen (46, 71 balls) added 95 runs for the visitors, much to the frustration of the home team. Mayank Dagar (21 batting) and Pankaj Jaswal (23 batting) added 35 runs for the ninth wicket to give the total some semblance of respectability. Left arm spinner Varun Sood (4/53) was the pick of the bowlers. The other slow left arm orthodox bowler, Vikas Mishra (2/65 in 21 overs), was also in his element. Ishant Sharma (1/38 in 11 overs) was impressive in short bursts and distinctly unlucky as some of the edges didn't carry to keeper or the slips.
Reddy's double ton powers Hyd to 523
Tirunelveli: Skipper Akshath Reddy's marathon double ton (248 not out) was the highlight of Hyderabad's massive total of 523 for 7 in the first innings against Tamil Nadu in a Elite Group 'B' match. Resuming at the overnight 249 for 3, the visitors continued to pile on the misery of Tamil Nadu's bowlers as Akshath and B Sandeep (130, 221 balls, 15X4, 1X6) extended their partnership to 246 runs. Akshath continued his good form into the second day and added eight boundaries to his overnight 14 and also hoisted two more sixers. The mammoth partnership was ended when Sandeep gave a catch to B Aparajith of the hard-working M Mohammed's bowling. The skipper has so far hit 22 fours and 3 sixers in his 477-ball knock of 248.