Ranji Trophy wrap: UP thrash Saurashtra, Gnaneshwar’s battling knock helps Andhra earn draw

Uttar Pradesh thrashed Saurashtra by an innings and 72 runs as Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara failed miserably with the bat in the second innings of the Ranji Trophy encounter in Rajkot on Saturday.

Uttar Pradesh had bowled out Saurashtra for 331 in their first essay and then posted a mammoth 523 on the board, courtesy a 165 by middle-order batsman Mohammed Saif. Thanks to Saif’s century, Uttar Pradesh managed to grab a massive 192-run first innings lead. When play resumed on the fourth and the final day at the SCA Stadium in Khanderi, Saurashtra needed to bat their skins out to save the game and evade defeat.

However, Uttar Pradesh skipper Saurabh Kumar spun a web around the opposition batsmen. Kumar, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, returned with match-winning figures of 6/55, as his team shot out Saurashtra for 120 and gained the bonus point.

Saurashtra openers Harvik Desai (50) and Snell Patel (19) gave them a sedate start conjuring 38 runs for the first wicket before leg spinner Zeeshan Ansari (3/42) trapped Patel in front of the wicket. One-down Pujara, who has on so many occasions pulled his team out of the woods, was expected to do it one more time.

However, the Test specialist lasted just 10 deliveries and was trapped in front of the wicket by Kumar for three. The Kumar-Ansari duo then ran through Saurashtra’s middle-order removing Samarth Vyas (0), Jay Chauhan (1) and Prerak Mankad (4) in quick succession, as the hosts slipped to 57/5. Sheldon Jackson (11) also was unable to covert his start as Saurashtra lost their sixth wicket for 83.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 331 and 120 (Harvik Desai 50, Snell Patel 19; Saurabh Kumar 6/55, Zeeshan Ansari 3/42) vs Uttar Pradesh 523. UP won by an innings and 72 runs.

Gnaneshwar stands tall for Andhra

Bengal had to be satisfied with three points by virtue of their first innings lead over Andhra in Kolkata.

Both teams agreed for a draw in the post-lunch session after Bengal reached 46 for no loss in 21 overs. The hosts rued missing out on securing an outright win after the match saw several interruptions because of bad light and rain in the first three days.

“We played fabulous cricket but we lost more than 100 overs which is about one and half days. It’s very difficult to win at this level with two and half days,” Bengal coach and mentor Arun Lal said.

Opener CR Gnaneshwar became the saviour for Andhra as he remained unbeaten on 74, batting through the third and fourth days before the visitor’s innings folded for 181 after Ishan Porel dismissed Y Prithvi Raj (four) in the 70th over, at the stroke of lunch.

In the previous over, Gnaneshwar was hit on his helmet by a rising delivery from Bengal debutant pacer Akash Deep, forcing the play to be held up for about 10 minutes. Gnaneshwar, however, resumed batting soon and remained unbeaten. His 239-ball patient knock saved Andhra team from follow-on. “He had a CT scan and he’s doing completely fine,” Hanuma Vihari later said.

Put in, Bengal rode on opener Abhishek Raman’s second successive century this season (112) to post 289 under challenging batting conditions.

Brief Scores

Bengal: 289 and 46/0 vs Andhra 181 (CR Gnaneshwar 74*; Ishan Porel 4/50, Akash Deep 3/36). Match Drawn. Points: Bengal 3, Andhra 1.

Odisha rout Uttarakhand

The pace bowling duo of Basant Mohanty and Suryakant Pradhan shared eight wickets between them as Odisha trounced Uttarakhand by 10 wickets at home to complete a hat-trick of wins.

This was Odisha’s third bonus-point win in a row as they lead group C by with 21 points in their kitty, five points clear of second placed Jharkhand.

A superlative 110 by man-of-the-match Shantanu Mishra helped Odisha secure a tall 117-run first innings lead as Uttarakhand, resuming the final day on 54 for four in their second essay, folded for 195 in 52.1 overs at the DRIEMS Ground in Cuttack.

Suryakant Pradhan grabbed 5/63, while the experienced Mohanty, who had struck 6/17 in the first innings, claimed 3/76 en route to a match-haul of nine wickets to lead Uttarakhand’s collapse.

Chasing a paltry 60, Odisha were steered home by Shantanu Mishra (29*) and Govinda Poddar (26 not out) after opener Debasish Samantray retired hurt on seven.

Brief Scores

Uttarakhand 117 and 195 (Dhanraj Sharma 50, Dikshanshu Negi 40; Suryakant Pradhan 5/63, Basant Mohanty 3/76). Odisha 253 and 63/0. Odisha won by 10 wickets.

Delhi miss bonus points vs Hyderabad

Delhi predictably got six points but lost three wickets in their pursuit of a meagre 84-run target, failing to log home a bonus point in their Ranji Trophy league encounter against Hyderabad.

Delhi now have seven points from three games and are currently placed 12th in the combined points list of the 18 teams in group A and B. Hyderabad are second last with three defeats in as many games.

However, Delhi’s problems will compound after Saturday’s match as they will miss the services of Shikhar Dhawam, Navdeep Saini and Ishant Sharma when they next face Punjab in an away game. Punjab are currently on top of the elite table with 17 points from two wins with bonus points.

While Dhawan and Saini will not be playing the next game due to international commitments, Ishant will be available in the third game as a part of workload management programme. Another pacer Pawan Suyal has a muscle tear in his groin and could be out of Ranji Trophy for good.

Brief scores:

Delhi 289 and 84/3 (Dhruv Shorey 32*, Shikhar Dhawan 21). Hyderabad 69 and 298.

Other matches

In Jamshedpur: Haryana 371. Jharkhand 408/5 (Kumar Deobrat 161, Saurabh Tiwary 152*, Utkarsh Singh 48). Match drawn. Points: Jharkhand 3, Haryana 1.

Jammu and Kashmir 460/5 declared Assam 82/2. Match drawn.

In Pune: Maharashtra 289 and 149/3 decl. (Ruturaj Gaikwad 76, Satyajeet Bachhav 52*). Chhattisgarh 286. Match drawn. Points: Maharashtra 3, Chhattisgarh 1.

Bengal 289 and 46/0 vs Andhra 181 (CR Gnaneshwar 74*; Ishan Porel 4/50, Akash Deep 3/36). Match Drawn. Points: Bengal 3, Andhra 1.

In Nagpur: Vidarbha 338. Punjab 408/5 (Shubman Gill 100, Gurkeerat Singh 149, Sanvir Singh 82, Mandeep Singh 59).