Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group A - Rajasthan rout Kerala, Manoj Tiwary hits triple ton against Hyderabad

01/20/2020

Rajasthan defeated Kerala by an innings and 96 runs inside five sessions in their sixth round clash at the St. Xavier's College Ground in Thiruvananthapuram. While Gujarat and Vidarbha seized leads against Punjab and Delhi respectively, Bengal mounted a massive 635 for seven against Hyderabad.

Shubham Sharma takes 11 as Rajasthan decimate Kerala

Rajasthan were left disappointed early in the day as they only managed to add 95 more runs to their overnight score of 173, losing the remaining six wickets in the process. Jalaj Saxena — Kerala’s only bright spark — went onto pick up his second successive seven-wicket haul. But whatever hopes Kerala had gathered was soon extinguished as the visitors removed both openers Rohan Prem and Vishnu Vinod early. Once Salman Nizar and skipper Sachin Baby were gone, what followed was a procession in itself. The home side bowled out for 82 — eight less than what they managed in the first innings — as the man of the match Sharma ended up with six for 48 — 11 for 89 in the match — and Rajasthan had their first win of the season.

Arzan Nagwaswalla five-for hand Gujarat vital lead

Though the visitors started the day brightly by bowling out Gujarat for 281, the day soon turned sour as the hosts had them reeling at 32 for five, courtesy of a sharp new-ball spell from Nagwaswalla. What followed was a rearguard action from skipper Mandeep Singh and wicket-keeper Anmol Malhotra — the duo adding 106 runs. Mandeep fell for 56, which included seven fours and a six, and it was left to Malhotra to carry the team over the 200-mark. The right-hander hit 20 fours and a six in his unbeaten 119, but could not prevent the hosts from taking a 52-run lead. In their second bout, Gujarat safely negotiated the remainder of the day’s play to reach 23 for no loss.

Aditya Thakare puts Vidarbha in driver’s seat

A seven-wicket haul from the right-arm medium pace of Thakare saw Vidarbha snatch a slender first-innings lead of 16 runs over Delhi on their home ground. Resuming play at 41 for four, the hosts lost four more wickets with the score merely at 110. It took a patient 101-ball 37 from wicket-keeper Anuj Rawat and tailender Simarjeet Singh to take Delhi past the 150-mark and close to Vidarbha’s total of 179. However, Thakare — who was involved in nine of Delhi’s dismissals with two catches — returned and cleaned up the tail before tea. Vidarbha then added 35 more runs to their lead to reach stumps without losing any wickets.

Manoj Tiwary and Co. have Hyderabad on the ropes

Resuming his innings on 156 — and the team total at 366 for five — Tiwary piled on the runs along with able support from Shahbaz Ahmed and Arnab Nandi — the former falling one short of a half-century. Nandi went onto hit 65 runs off the 83 balls, including eight fours and a six. The hosts declared their innings four balls into the post-tea session as Tiwary completed his maiden triple hundred (303), which included 30 fours and five sixes. A thoroughly disheartened Hyderabad side continued to lose their way, reaching 83 at stumps — still trailing by 552 — with half the side back in the hut — the new-ball combo of Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep doing all the damage.