Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group A - Delhi, Hyderabad hold advantage ahead of final day
Delhi bowlers took four quick wickets to tilt an evenly-balanced game in their favour as Punjab have a lead of only 18 runs while Kolla Sumanth's unbeaten century gave Hyderabad a healthy lead over Kerala. Elsewhere, Ashok Menaria's innings of 79 runs kept Rajasthan in the game on the final day.
Rain interrupts another day of Bengal-Gujarat game
Gujarat ended the day on a score of 169-7 as rain continued to play spoilsport. Only 45 overs were possible in the day. Ishan Porel and Akash Deep were the wicket-takers for Bengal as they picked three and four wickets respectively. With just one day left in the game, the result likely seems to be a draw.
Sandeep Warrier, batsmen give Kerala hope
Kolla Sumanth continued his overnight innings and smashed a brilliant hundred (111*) showcasing his ability to bat with the tail. His innings was instrumental in Hyderabad taking a lead of 64 runs. In reply, Kerala had to bat well and the pitch was not getting any easier to bat. However, they managed to score 204 runs losing 7 wickets in the process. With a lead of 140 runs, Kerala will be hoping to add as many as they could to the total in order to pose a strong fight.
Delhi bowlers put Punjab in deep trouble
Delhi managed to take a 26-run lead over Punjab as they ended up scoring 339 in their first innings. Nitish Rana (92) was well supported by the lower order and it was down to the bowlers to put pressure on Punjab batsmen for the last part of the day. The Delhi bowlers were successful in collapsing Punjab to 44-4 by the end of day's play. With the lead just 18 runs, Delhi will be looking to end the Punjab innings in order to get a fourth-innings score as low as possible.
Ashok Menaria keeps Rajasthan in the game
Rajasthan had their backs to the wall at 23/2 and needed an influential batting performance to stay in the game. One of their most senior batsmen Ashok Menaria stepped up and played a fighting knock (79) and was ably supported by skipper Rohan Bisht (30) and Rajesh Bishnoi (49) as Rajasthan ended the day on 243-8, taking a lead of 137 runs. Rajasthan will hope to add as many runs as possible in order to pose a threat to Andhra batsmen.
