Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | AP v SAU - Saurashtra on top after Chirag Jani ton
Chirag Jani’s second century of the season along with a resilient 80 from Prerak Mankad helped Saurashtra post in excess of 400 on day two of the fourth quarter-final against Andhra Pradesh. Skipper Jaydev Unadkat picked up two top-order wickets to further dent Andhra’s chances further.
Brief scores: Saurashtra 419 all-out in 146.5 overs (Chirag Jani 121; Prerak Mankad 80; Yarra Prithviraj 3-51) vs Andhra 40/2 in 22 overs (CR Gnaneshwar 22*; Jaydev Unadkat 2-20).
Day two of proceedings in Ongole lay in stark contrast to the opening day. If the match was poised evenly at stumps on day one, it had tilted significantly in the away side’s direction by stumps on day two.
Resuming their efforts at 226 with just four wickets in the kitty, Saurashtra’s lower order, led by Jani and Mankad, pounced on a toothless Andhra attack to add 152 runs to the total before a breakthrough. Jani’s patient 121, which included 12 fours, was ended by KV Sasikanth, who bowled a total of 51 overs in the innings. Mankad followed soon after, falling 20 short of a century before the innings was wrapped for 419.
In reply, Unadkat trapped opener Prasanth Kumar in front in the third over to push the hosts into a defensive mindset. The tactics worked for well over an hour before Unadkat finally broke through and removed Jyothi Sai Krishna off the last ball of the day.