Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group B - Sarfaraz Khan falls short of another ton; TN in control against Baroda

Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group B - Sarfaraz Khan falls short of another ton; TN in control against Baroda

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Following his unbeaten double hundred to go with the triple hundred in the innings before, Sarfaraz Khan finally fell on 78 in Mumbai’s eighth round clash against Saurashtra. Elsewhere, Tamil Nadu had Baroda bowled out for 174 in their first bout, before reaching 135 for no loss at stumps.

Sarfaraz Khan, Shams Mulani to Mumbai’s rescue again

Opting to bat first, Mumbai’s steady 62-run opening stand was cancelled out by the left-arm spin of DA Jadeja inspired-collapse which saw the visitors reduced to 88 for four. Once again though, it was the counter-attacking prowess of Sarfaraz combining with patience of Mulani that rescued Mumbai with a 109-run stand for the fifth wicket. Once Sarfaraz was removed, Jadeja returned to complete his fifer and reduce Mumbai to 249 for eight at stumps on day one. Sarfaraz’ 78 included nine fours and two sixes, while Mulani, who hit six fours and two sixes en route his 59, remained unbeaten.

M Mohammed seven-fer puts TN well on top

Visiting skipper Baba Aparajith won the toss and put Baroda in at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara — and boy did his bowlers not deliver. By lunch, Mohammed (seven for 68) and Co. had the hosts reeling at 95 for seven, and 100 for eight four overs later. However, their only regret might be in the fact that they let Baroda add another 74 runs to the total — courtesy of Atit Sheth’s counter-attacking fifty — before cleaning up the tail. In reply, Abhinav Mukund (73 not out) and Laxmesha Suryaprakash (61 not out) batted through the remaining 31 overs as TN reached 135 for no loss — only trailing by 39 runs — at stumps.

Ravikumar Samarth ton helps Karnataka build formidable total

After a wobbly start that saw the visitors reduced to 35 for two against MP, Samarth’s patient batting found company in skipper Karun Nair (22) to steady the ship with a 48-run stand. Once Nair fell, Krishnamurthy Siddharth joined Samarth and the duo batted through to stumps, adding another 150 runs to the total, which reached 233 for three at stumps. Samarth completed his century, hitting six fours en route, while Siddharth’s unbeaten 62 included seven fours. For the hosts, Gaurav Yadav, Ravi Yadav, and Kuldeep Sen picked up a wicket each. 

Middle-order pushes Himachal to 283

At 36 for four, it seemed like skipper Ankit Kalsi’s decision to bat first was the wrong choice for Himachal, playing away to Railways. Kalsi briefly helped steady the ship with his 22, before half-centuries from Rishi Dhawan (70), Nikhil Gangta (72), and Mayank Dagar (68) helped push the score past 250, with Dagar the last man dismissed. For Railways, Pradeep T returned with figures of four for 62, while Himanshu Sangwan and Harsh Tyagi picked up two wickets each. Skipper Karn Sharma returned wicketless in his seven overs that went for 38 runs.

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