Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group C - Haryana, Assam fighting back, Jharkhand reeling against Maharashtra
Haryana and Assam fought back to even the playing field against Odisha and Chattisgarh, while Jharkhand were found reeling against Maharashtra on day two of the fifth round matches in Group C. Services still trail Jammu and Kashmir by 122 runs, while Tripura took a 12-run lead over Uttarakhand.
Resuming play from a comfortable position at 141 for five — 51 runs ahead of Haryana — Odisha were blown away for 160 all out by a five-fer from Tinu Kundu. Haryana seized the momentum and courtesy of starts from the openers and the middle-order, finished the day at 218 for five — 148 runs ahead of their opposition.
Assam, on the other hand, bowled out Chhattisgarh for 318, before putting a stern resistance themselves. Though they lost their opener Rahul Hazarika early, Rishav Das’ 99 and skipper Gokul Sharma’s unbeaten 50 meant that Assam reached 209 for three at the end of play. Riyan Parag — unbeaten on 24 — gave the skipper good company and will look to build towards a lead on the penultimate day.
After conceding a mammoth 434 in the first innings against Maharashtra — with twin centurions Azim Kazi and Vishant More being the chief destroyers — Jharkhand lost two wickets in the sole over of their innings. It was Mukesh Choudhary who removed opener Kumar Deobrat (0) and nightwatchman Utkarsh Singh (2), who had picked up by a five-fer while bowling.
A late resistance from the Services lower-order — Arjun Sharma, Arun Bamal, and Diwesh Pathania — saw them recover from 105 for six to finish day two at 238 for nine — still 122 runs behind J&K’s total. Earlier, the away side posted 360 courtesy of skipper Parvez Rasool’s 178-ball 182.
Day two in Agartala saw a flurry of early Uttarakhand wickets fall, as they were bowled out for 90. Manisankar Murasingh and Ajoy Sarkar both picked up four-fer’s for Tripura as only two batsmen — Unmukt Chand and Mayank Mishra — made it to double digits. The away side struck back in the very first over, with Pradeep Chamoli removing Bikramkumar Das, but cameos from No.’s two to five helped the hosts Tripura erase the deficit and take a 12-run lead by stumps. Das’ fellow opener Samrat Singha was forced to retire hurt on 29.
