Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group C - Haryana, Services register big wins
Haryana and Services registered impressive wins in under two days against Assam and Uttarakhand respectively in the eighth round of matches. Elsewhere, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh ended day two with the upper hand against Odisha, Jharkhand, and Tripura respectively.
Harshal Patel keeps Haryana’s QF hopes alive
An eight-wicket haul and 28 crucial runs in the match from skipper Harshal Patel helped Haryana register a seven-wicket win over Assam to keep their remote hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive. With 30 points, Haryana will still need to defeat the in-form J&K in their last league match and hope some other results go their way. Earlier in the day, the hosts had Assam down to 23 for three, before some middle-order resistance helped recover their cause somewhat. Saahil Jain top-scored with 63 for Assam, who were bowled out for 197, with Ajit Chahal and Ashish Hooda picking up two wickets each to support Patel’s four-fer. Haryana then chased down 97 with ease to clinch their third win of the season.
Ankit Bawne, Ruturaj Gaikwad going strong for Maharashtra
Odisha’s hopes of mounting a first-innings total fell by the wayside once Shantanu Mishra was dismissed for 84 in the first over of the day. Rajesh Dhuper — who was on 67 overnight — completed his century and remained unbeaten, but Odisha fell from 223 for five and were bowled out for 293. In reply, Maharashtra lost both their openers with only 38 on the board. However, skipper Bawne joined Gaikwad and together the duo put on an unbeaten 181-run stand to put the hosts in a commanding position. Bawne’s 80 included eight fours, while Gaikwad hit nine fours and three sixes en route his century.
Services crush Uttarakhand by 10 wickets
Day two at Dehradun proved even worse for Uttarakhand, as their dominant visitors sunk them into a sixth defeat in eight matches this season. Resuming at 10 for no loss in their second bout, the hosts were bowled out for a mere 137 — which meant Services needed 48 runs for victory. Skipper Tanmay Srivastava scored a half-century, but no other batsmen put up a resistance. Raushan Raj — the Man-of-the-Match for his match figures of six for 38 — and Sachidanand Pandey picked up three wickets each. In reply, Services coasted home keeping all 10 wickets intact to clinch the extra point to go to within two points of Odisha, who are on top with 35.
Chhattisgarh all over Jharkhand after Harpreet Singh double
Riding on the back of skipper Harpreet Singh’s double century, which included 29 fours and a six, and Ajay Jadav Mandal’s century, Chhattisgarh posted a mammoth 559 on the board at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur. Sahil Raj was the pick of the bowlers for Jharkhand with three for 83, while Sonu Singh also picked up three wickets but went for 158 runs. The reply started off horribly wrong for the hosts, who were left reeling at zero for three in the very first over bowled by Veer Pratap Singh. At stumps, Jharkhand reached 36 for four in 10 overs.
Parvez Rasool seven-fer puts J&K in command
Resuming his rescue-knock on 49, Abid Mushtaq completed his half-century and finished his team’s top-scorer with 76 as J&K’s innings folded for 329. Despite early blows, Pratyush Singh (47) and skipper Milind Kumar (55) breathed life into Tripura’s reply, taking the total past 100 with the loss of three wickets. Once the two fell, Rasool, having accounted for top-order dismissals, came back and picked up five more to clean the hosts up for 187; a 142-run first-innings lead for the visitors and figures of seven for 45 for their skipper. In their second bout, J&K reached 49 for one at stumps.
