Published: Nov 27, 2017, 05:47 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 27, 2017, 05:47 PM (IST)
At Ranchi: Resuming from 98 for 3, Jharkhand failed to come close to Gujarat’s 411. Nazim Siddiqui perished for 71, while Ishank Jaggi and Ishan Kishan got starts. Kumar Deobrat’s half-century propelled their score near 250. At one stage, they were reeling at 180 for 8. Following on, Jharkhand are 106 for 2 at stumps on the penultimate day.
Siddiqui again failed to convert his fifty into three figures. The onus lies on Virat Singh, and he will need company from other end to take Jharkhand to safe shores. Gujarat’s Kamlesh Thakor complimented his 3-for from the first innings, and dented Jharkhand courtesy his twin strikes in the second outing.
Brief scores
Gujarat 411 (Samit Gohel 64, Manprit Juneja 67, Rujul Bhatt 145*, Ashish Kumar 4 for 118, Shahbaz Nadeem 3 for 106) lead Jhakrhand 242 & 106 for 2 (Nizam Siddiqui 53, Virat Singh 32*; Kamlesh Thakor 2 for 30) by 63 runs.
At Lahli: Kerala couldn’t stretch their lead beyond 200, but still hold a firm grip versus Haryana. At stumps, Haryana trail by 98 runs with five wickets remaining. Play commenced with Rohan Prem looking set for a hundred. Nonetheless, he fell 7 runs short. The innings was carried forward courtesy a counter-attacking knock from Basil Thampi. His 75-ball 60 provided the perfect launchpad and paved way for a healthy lead. However, Kerala lost their last seven wickets for 116 runs.
In reply, Haryana’s top order failed once again. Thampi and Jalaj Saxena’s two wickets apiece have brought them on the mat. Skipper Amit Mishra and Rajat Paliwal have a big task in hand on the final day, to avoid an inevitable defeat.
Brief scores
Haryana 208 & 83 for 5 (Rajat Paliwal 25*, Amit Mishra 15*, Basil Thampi 2 for 22, Jalaj Saxena 2 for 22) trail Kerala 389 (Jalaj Saxena 91, Rohan Prem 93, Basil Thampi 60; Ajit Chahal 5 for 90) by 98 runs.
At Jaipur: Rajasthan’s struggles continued against Saurashtra. They folded for 275 and are 13 for no loss in their second innings; trailing by 246 runs. Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat, Shaurya Sanandia and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja shared 9 wickets among each other to rock Rajasthan. Rohan Bist and Mahipal Lomror’s fifties were the only talking points from Rajasthan’s first innings. Soft dismissals and regular breakthroughs pushed them on the back foot.
Nonetheless, with 10 wickets in hand, Rajasthan will fight hard to salvage a draw.
Brief scores
Saurashtra 534 (Avi Barot 130, Robin Uthappa 59, Sheldon Jackson 94, Jaydev Unadkat 88, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 79; Tanvir Mashart Ul-Haq 2 for 112) trial Rajasthan 275 & 13 for 0 (Amitkumar Gautam 6*, Chetan Bish 2*; Shaurya Sanandia 0 for 0) by 246 runs.
