Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group C- Haryana, Jharkhand start strong on opening day of Round 2

12/17/2019

Jharkhand and Haryana have begun their round 2 with massive strides over Assam and Tripura respectively as Anukul Roy picked up 4/28 for Jharkhand while Haryana skipper Harshal Patel ran through Tripura with figures of 7/29. Elsewhere, Basant Mohanty keeps Odisha's noses in front against Services.

Sanklecha, Mushtaq keep things even on opening day

Brief scores: Maharashtra 51/3 (Trunkwala 31, Mushtaq 2/14) trail Jammu and Kashmir 209 (Banday 76, Sanklecha 4/56) by 158 runs at Stumps on Day 1

Jammu and Kashmir batted first against Maharashtra and despite Ahmed Banday holding up one end with a well made 76, wickets kept on tumbling at the other end. Anupam Sanklecha was the pick of Maharashtra bowlers with figures of 4/56. Abid Mushtaq's late half-century helped the batting team cross 200 before getting bowled out for 209. In reply, Maharashtra seemed to be negotiating the J&K bowlers until twin strikes from Abid Mushtaq in the final over of the day has poised the game nicely at the end of the first day.

Odisha, Services negotiate an evenly fought first day

Brief Scores: Odisha 43/0 (Sarangi 33*) trail Services 271 (Paliwal 58, Mohanty 6/69) by 228 runs at Stumps on Day 1.

Services batted first against Odisha and got bowled out for 271 thanks to some fantastic bowling from Basant Mohanty who ended the innings with figures of 6/69. Important half-centuries from Nakul Verma, skipper Rajat Paliwal and Gahlaut Singh meant that the Services bowlers had something to bowl at. But the Odisha openers negotiated the remainder of the day relatively easily scoring 43 runs without the loss of any wicket. The morning session of day two becomes crucial to decide which team takes the first-innings lead.

Jharkhand bowlers dominate as Assam are rattled

Brief Scores: Assam 162 all-out (Parag 55, Roy 4/28) vs Jharkhand at Stumps on Day 1.

Jharkhand made light work of Assam's batting line-up as they managed to bundle them out for just 162. Anukul Roy impressed with the ball having figures of 4/28 while other bowlers Shahbaz Nadeem and Ashish Kumar chipped in with three wickets each. Youngster Riyan Parag tried to hold the Assam innings together with a well-made 55 but the Jharkhand bowlers kept on picking wickets at regular intervals. Jharkhand batsman will now look to bat long and drive home the advantage on day two.

Tripura blown away by Harshal Patel heroics

Haryana 131-2 (Bishnoi 63*, Dutta 1/20) lead Tripura 63 (Mishra 29, Patel 7/29) by 68 runs at Stumps on Day 1.

Tripura managed to score just 63 as Haryana skipper Harshal Patel was on fire, bamboozling the batsmen and ending with figures of 7/29. The remaining three wickets were picked by Ashish Hooda. In reply, Haryana ended the day on 131/2, 68 runs ahead of Tripura with 8 wickets in hand and a well-settled Chaitanya Bishnoi batting on 63*. The die already seems to be cast on this match and Haryana will look to pile on more misery on day two.

Chattisgarh with their noses ahead on day one after Uttarakhand collapse

Brief Scores: Chattisgarh 109-5 (Khare 33*, Singh 2/22) trail Uttarakhand 120 (Negi 29, Mandal 3/17) by 11 runs at Stumps on Day 1.

Uttarakhand batting order showed no spine as they got bowled out for just 120. Chattisgarh bowlers were disciplined with their line and length and Puneet Datey along with Ajay Mandal picked three wickets each. In reply, Chattisgarh ended the day on 109/5, 11 runs behind Uttarakhand but more importantly with five wickets in hand. Amandeep Khare is well-set on 33* and along with wicketkeeper Manoj Singh, will look to go past the total of Uttarakhand and take a sizeable first-innings lead.