Ranji highlights: Unadkat puts Saurashtra on course for early win

[File photo] Jaydev Unadkat picked up six wickets in the second innings against Himachal Pradesh © Getty

Engrossing battles

Vaibhav Arora's six-wicket haul meant that Saurashtra were bowled out for 141, with a marginal 21-run lead. But in the same game Jaydev Unadkat also accounted for six scalps, with his 6 for 51 limiting Himachal Pradesh to 182 despite half-centuries from Ankush Bains and Rishi Dhawan. But Arora was not done for the day as he picked up two more to create some jitters in the Saurashtra camp. The Unadkat-led side ended the day at 96 for 3, needing 66 more for victory with Cheteshwar Pujara still to bat.

Ravichandran Ashwin bagged a four-wicket haul, helping Tamil Nadu wrap up Karnataka's tail but that was only after the opposition managed to cross the 300-run mark thanks to a 39-ball 51 from K Gowtham. The off-spinning allrounder continued to taste success through the day as he accounted for the Tamil Nadu openers following an 81-run partnership, and later bagged the wicket of Vijay Shankar. Dinesh Karthik's watchful innings ensured that his team did not lose anymore wickets but Tamil Nadu have their work cut out, trailing by 171 with six wickets remaining.

Amit Mishra and Himanshu Sangwan bagged four wickets apiece and thwarted Uttar Pradesh's attempt to post a fighting total despite Almas Shaukat scoring an unbeaten 92. UP were bowled out for 175, which gave Railways a 78-run lead. However, Railways' top-order reeled under the attack from Shivam Mavi and Yash Dayal, who bagged three and two wickets respectively, to end the day at 58 for 5, with an overall lead of 136.

Riyan Parag's 66 helped Assam finish with 162 against Services to pick up a marginal lead of 38. Services, who had been bowled out for 124 in their first innings, put up a better display in their second essay as they ended the day at 130 for 4, leading by 92.

Ton up

Arslan Khan, the 20-year-old left-handed batsman, became the first double centurion in this edition as Chandigarh continued to make the right noises in their maiden Ranji Trophy game. Arslan, who started the day at 119, remained unbeaten on 233 while he also saw Manan Vohra score a quick-fire hundred, as Chandigarh posted a mammoth total of 503/2 decl. Arunachal Pradesh were then reduced to 164/6 at Stumps, still needing 192 more to make Chandigarh bat again.

Ganesh Satish came to Vidarbha's rescue in reply to Andhra's total of 211, with the No. 4 notching up a fine century to help his side into the lead. The defending champions were 61 for 3 at one stage but managed to regain ascendancy in the game thanks to Satish's knock and his 184-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Mohit Kale, who fell 18 short of a hundred. Vidarbha ended the day at 268 for 4, leading by 57.

The experienced Kedar Devdhar scored a fighting 154 to lead Baroda's reply after Mumbai posted a total of 431. However, Devdhar's contribution was the lone 50-plus score in Baroda's innings. Playing in only his third first-class game, 22-year-old left-arm spinner Shams Mulani was the chief wicket-taker for Mumbai as he bagged his maiden fifer and ensured that Devdhar wasn't able to get much support to build a substantial partnership. But Devdhar was not done with his fight, remaining unbeaten at the end of the day, taking Baroda to 301 for 9.

While it was Robin Uthappa's day on the opening day of the competition, skipper Sachin Baby added to Delhi's woes on Day 2 with a knock of 155, receiving some support through Salman Nizar's 77, as Kerala posted 525 for 9 before declaring their innings. Sandeep Warrier and Jalaj Saxena then bagged a wicket each to leave Delhi at 23 for 2 at Stumps.

Mandeep Singh's knock of 122, along with half-centuries from Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Anmol Malhotra, helped Punjab into the lead in their match against Rajasthan. Punjab ended the day at 290 for 6, leading by 33 runs.

Snehal Kauthankar and Amit Verma scored hundreds to help Goa post 436/6 decl. against Sikkim, who were 22 for 2 in their second innings to be 278 behind.

Ahead in the game

Manprit Juneja's 94 and Rujul Bhatt's 65 helped Gujarat pick up a handy lead against Hyderabad. Mohammed Siraj and Mehdi Hassan bagged seven wickets between them but the half-centuries ensured that Gujarat ended the day at 295 for 9, leading by 62. Haryana posted 401 before reducing Maharashtra to 88 for 4 to gain a upper hand in their encounter. Meanwhile, Abdul Samad and Fazil Rashid scored half-centuries to help Jammu & Kashmir post 304 in their second innings against Uttarakhand, who were reduced to 18 for 3 in a chase of 403.

Nagaland's Imliwati Lemtur picked up a six-wicket haul and reduced Meghalaya to 89 for 9 in their second innings. But Meghalaya had managed to extend their lead to 238 by the end of the day's play. Their position of strength was thanks to Sanjay Yadav, who picked up 9 for 52 - the 24th occasion of a bowler picking nine or more wickets in an innings in the Ranji Trophy -to bowl out Nagaland for 136. Yadav had accounted for the first nine wickets but Abhay Negi managed to dismiss the last batsman Bohoto Yeptho, which denied him the perfect ten.

Having posted 289, Tripura managed to bowl out Jharkhand for 136 in their first innings, with Rana Dutta (4-42) and Abhijit Sarkar (3-43) doing the bulk of the damage. Asked to follow on, Jharkhand were 91 for 2 in their second innings, still 62 behind. Elsewhere, Odisha managed to take a handy lead against Chhattisgarh, who were 45 for 1 in their second innings and still 36 behind.

Puducherry were in a strong position against Bihar thanks to a clinical all-round performance. Paras Dogra and Ashith Rajiv scored fifties to help Puducherry post 300, having bowled Bihar out for 173 on the opening day. Bihar lost early wickets in their second innings and ended the day at 61 for 4, still 66 shorrt of making Puducherry bat again.