The second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C encounter between Gujarat and Haryana witnessed the fall of as many as fourteen wickets, following up on the washed-out opening day.
Kshitij Patel’s half
century was the only shining light for Gujarat, who only posted 163, with the bat as Haryana’s Nikhil Kashyap and Nishant Sindhu picked three-fers each. However, Haryana struggled too as they managed 90/4 in at stumps, trailing by 73 runs.
Gujarat pacer Vishal Jaiswal struck early to dismiss openers Ankit Kumar, who scored five, and Lakshay Dalal, who made eight. Following these setbacks, Mayank Shandilya scored twenty-eight and Sindhu scored twenty-nine, briefly steadying the innings. However, Siddharth Desai broke their partnership, keeping Gujarat in a strong position.
Sudip Kumar Gharami capitalised on his opportunity at the top by scoring his sixth first-class century and partnering with Shakir Habib Gandhi in a double-century stand, putting Bengal firmly in control against Tripura in Agartala.
At stumps, Bengal were 336 for nine, with Shahbaz Ahmed holding fort on forty, ensuring the visitors were well placed for three first-innings points.
Resuming from their overnight score of 171 for one, Gharami and Gandhi continued their solid performance, untroubled by the Tripura bowlers in the morning session.
Promoted to open in the absence of skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran and the injured Sudip Chatterjee, Gharami brought up his hundred with a well-timed sweep and went on to score a patient 108 off 250 balls, including fifteen fours.
However, it was heartbreak for Gandhi, who missed a well-deserved maiden first-class century by just five runs, falling for ninety-five. He was caught by substitute Rajat Dey at deep square leg off Rana Datta, who had missed a chance to dismiss Gandhi earlier due to a dropped catch.
Following the departure of the pair, Bengal’s middle order failed to build on the solid foundation, losing four wickets for just twenty-five runs. Anustup Majumdar scored six, stand-in skipper Abhishek Porel made eleven, and Sumanta Gupta fell cheaply for five.
Tripura captain Manisankar Murasingh played a key role, first denying Gandhi his century and then removing the experienced Majumdar.
From 262 for seven, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed steadied the innings, adding valuable runs with debutant Rahul Prasad, who scored a brisk thirty-five off forty-six balls with five fours. Shahbaz remained unbeaten on forty off eighty-two deliveries, hitting two boundaries and showing restraint and composure.
Rana Datta was the pick of Tripura’s bowlers with figures of three for seventy-six from twenty-three overs, while Murasingh returned a tidy two for fifty-six from twenty-seven overs.
Score:
Gujarat Vs Hayana
Gujarat 163 in 63.5 overs (Kshitij Patel 50; Nikhil Kashyap 3/34, Nishant Sindhu 3/43)
Haryana 90/4 in 34 overs (Vishal Jaiswal 2/36).
Uttarakhand Vs Services
Uttarakhand 257 in 110.2 overs (J Suchith 67, Saurabh Rawat 56; Vikas Yadav 5/53, Arjun Sharma 4/79)
Services 178/7 in 67 overs (Mohit Ahlawat 75, Ravi Chauhan 51; Mayank Mishra 3/69).
Bengal Vs Tripura
Bengal 336/9 in 115 overs (Sudip Gharami 108, Habib Gandhi 95; Rana Dutta 3/76).
Railways 57/2 vs Assam.
/images/ppid_a911dc6a-image-176184062871928497.webp)
