Ranji Trophy round-up: Karnataka take commanding lead against Mumbai, Manipur secure first-ever win

Milind Kumar continued his sublime form with the bat to smash 133, his third successive triple-figure score, but Sikkim still failed to save follow-on against Uttarakhand in their Ranji Trophy group match in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday.

Having struck 261 and 224 in the last two matches, the former Delhi batsman once again waged a lone battle for Sikkim. Milind had a great chance to become the only batsman in the history of first-class cricket to score three consecutive double tons but Dhanraj Sharma dismissed him 67 runs short of the world record.

Overnight 49/3 in reply to Uttarakhand’s 582/9 delcared, Sikkim were shot out for 264 in 96 overs with only two other batsmen – skipper Nilesh Lamichaney (57) and Bipul Sharma (36) – managing double digits.

Following-on, Sikkim were 27/2 in the second essay staring at a big loss as they still needed 291 runs to avoid an innings defeat. In Jorhat, Manipur secured their first-ever win in the Ranji Trophy with a eight-wicket victory over Mizoram.

Thokchom Singh (4/20) and Bishworjit Konthoujam (3/27) shared seven wickets between them to help Manipur skittle out Mizoram for 116 in 37 overs in the second innings before chasing down the 17-run target with a day to spare.

In Shillong, Arbar Kazi steered Nagaland’s rearguard action with an unbeaten 129 but Meghalaya were still in control. Kazi, who hit an unbeaten 200 in the Nagaland’s debut Ranji match against Mizoram, stood tall in the second innings after Meghalaya had enforced follow-on.

He stitched 145 runs for the sixth wicket with Paras Sehrawat (57) to steady Nagaland’s strong reply in the second essay. But after Sehrawat’s departure, Meghalaya picked two more quick wickets in the form of Lemtur Imliwati (4) and Tahmeed Rahman (6) as Nagaland were left at 332/8, a small lead of 49 runs with two wickets in hand after the penultimate day’s proceedings.

Resuming on 31 for no loss in their second essay, Sedezhalie Rupero (68) and Nitesh Lohchab (38) added 67 runs for the opening wicket before Dipu Sangma gave the first breakthrough. Nagaland soon slumped to 112/4, losing three wickets for just 45 runs but Kazi, batting at number six, took charge with Sherawat giving him assistance in the middle.

In Puducherry, the home team’s match against Bihar was suspended for a third successive day due to rain.

Brief Scores

Uttarakhand 582/9 decl. Sikkim 264 (Milind Kumar 133, Nilesh Lamichaney 57; Dhanraj Sharma 3/36, M Rangarajan 3/67, Rajat Bhatia 2/33) and following-on Sikkim 27/2; 12 overs (Padam Limboo 2 batting, Ashish Thapa 6 batting).

Mizoram 219 and 116 (Thokchom Singh 4/20, Bishworjit Konthoujam 3/27). Manipur 319 and 19/2; 7.5 overs. Manipur won by eight wickets.

Meghalaya 389, Nagaland 106 and following-on 332/8 (Arbar Kazi 129*, Sedezhalie Rupero 68, Paras Sehrawat 57; Aditya Singhania 3/46, Dipu Sangma 2/47, Gurinder Singh 2/102).

Rajasthan’s fightback continues

Rajasthan, who conceded the first -innings lead to hosts Jharkhand, made a splendid comeback in their second essay. Rajasthan, who were bundled out for 100 in the first innings and conceded the lead, made up for the mistakes in the second outing, as they put on 379 on the board to leave Jharkhand with a challenging victory chase.

Jharkhand, bowled out for 152 in their first innings, were 24 for no loss at stumps on day three and required 304 more for an outright win on the final day. Ashok Menaria, who hit a stroke-filled 125 off 325 balls, led Rajasthan’s fight back in the second innings, while Rajesh Bishnoi Jr chipped in with a gritty 82 off 145-balls.

Rajasthan 100 and 379 (Ashok Menaria 125; Rajesh Bishnoi Jr 82, Anukul Roy 4/97) v Jharkhand 152 and 24/0.

Karnataka take lead

Hosts Karnataka gained an upper hand by taking the crucial first innings lead over Mumbai in Belgavi. Karnataka bundled out Mumbai for a meagre 205 in reply to their own 400 to take a huge 195-run first innings lead at the KSCA Stadium.

At stumps on the penultimate day of the four-day game, Karnataka were 81 for 3 with first innings hero KV Siddharth (30 not out) and experienced Stuart Binny (2*) holding fort.

Karnataka bowlers, led by medium pacer Ronit More, rose to the occasion against the depleted Mumbai line-up without mainstays Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, who are on national duty. More grabbed 5/52 to make regular inroads into Mumbai. Apart from opener Jay Bista (70), other batsmen faltered as Mumbai conceded the lead.

Karnataka 400 and 81/3 vs Mumbai 205 (Jay Bista 70, Ronit More 5/52).

Delhi struggled against Hyderabad

Delhi’s hopes of taking the first-innings lead looked slim with Hyderabad reducing the visitors to 245 for six in the Elite Group B match. At stumps on the third and penultimate day, Delhi trailed the hosts by 215 runs with four lower-order batsmen to follow.

Hyderabad notched up 460 in their first innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hiten Dalal was the day’s top-scorer with 93 off 180 balls while Nitish Rana, in his first season as Delhi skipper, contributed 82 off 179 deliveries.

While Dalal found the fence 14 times and cleared it once, Rana struck nine boundaries and a six. Resuming the day on overnight 21 for no loss, Delhi suffered their first blow when debutant Sarthak Ranjan was bowled by centurion T Ravi Teja with the visitors two short of 50 at the end of the 15th over. Ranjan made 20 off 66 balls.