Kerala takes 179-run lead

Ranji Trophy: Complete coverage

Captain Sreekumar Nair and Sureshkumar shared seven wickets amongst themselves as Kerala took control of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group 'A' match in Palakkad on Thursday.

The hosts, who had scored 319 runs in their first innings, dismissed Jammu and Kashmir for a platry 140 and then consolidated their position and were 109 for 3 in their second innings.

They have now an overall lead of 288 with seven wickets in hand.

Earlier, resuming at 23/1, J and K were in trouble, as they lost two quick wickets-Kanwaljeet Singh (2) and Majid Dar (4).

However, captain Dhruv Mahajan and overnight opener Sajjad Sheikh steadied the innings and added 68 runs for the fourth wicket before left-arm spinner Sureshkumar broke the stand by having Sheikh edging to wicket-keeper Mausam Nathani for 29. He dealt two more blows and JK were in trouble at 130/6.

Dhruv, who batted sensibly and confidently did not last long as Sreekumar Nair had him edging to Nathani for 78 which included 13 boundaries. Sureshkumar and Sreekumar Nair, who hit a century in Kerala's first innings, then ensured that the Jammu and Kashmir innings did not last long.

Sureshkumar claimed 4 for 25 in his 16 overs.

Brief scores:
Kerala: 319 and 109/3 (Sreekumar Nair batting 29, Sunil Oasis batting 16, Pranav Mahajan 2/28)
Jammu and Kashmir: 140 (Dhruv Mahajan 78, Sajjad Sheikh 29, Sreekumar Nair 3/5, Sureshkumar 4/25).

-------------------------

Himachal takes first innings lead

An unbeaten knock of 83 by Jharkhand skipper Sumit Panda and his 93-run eighth wicket stand with tail-ender Shahid Khan (38) went in vain as the hosts conceded a 57-run first innings lead to Himachal Pradesh on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Plate Group 'A' match in Jamshedpur on Thursday.

At stumps, Himachal were 35 for one with skipper Sandeep Sharma (19 batting) and Sangram Singh (7 batting) on crease in the Keenan Stadium.

Resuming at four for no loss, Jharkhand's top-order batting line up succumbed before the fiery spell led by medium pacer Vikramjeet Malik and Ashok Thakur as their innings was reduced to 75 for five at lunch.

Besides, openers Manish Vardhan (22) and Ratan Kumar (11), M Tantubai (12), Rajiv Kumar (13) and Nikhilesh Ranjan (0) returned cheaply.

Sumit Panda, who joined Suni Kumar (2) at the fall of Ranjan, resisted the Himachal attack amidst fall of wickets at the other end notching up a brilliant unbeaten 83 (8 x 4, 3 x 6).

Panda's knock rescued Jharkhand from early collapse as he, in the company of left-arm spinner Shahid Khan (38, 5 x 4), stiched a valuable 93 runs for the eighth wicket.

After Khan's departure, Panda did not get any lasting company and Jharkhand's innings was wrapped up for 218 in reply to Himachal's 275.

Malik (5/30) returned with a five wicket haul followed by Thakur (3/45) and Sangram Singh (2/28).

In the second innings, Himachal Pradesh received an early jolt when its opener Ankur Bassi was ran out for six.

Scorecard:

Himachal Pradesh first innings: 275
Jharkhand first innings
M Vrdhan b S Singh 22
R Kumar b A Thakur 11
M Tantubai lbw V Malik 12
R Kumar c M Bisla b V Malik 13
N Ranjan lbw S Singh 0
S Kumar c A Mannu b V Kumar 2
S Panda not out 83
S Lal b A Thakur 8
S Khan c M Bisla b V Malik 38
M Diwakar b V Malik 0
S S Rao b A Thakur 8
Extras (b-7, lb-9, nb-4, wb-1) 21
Total (all out, 71.1 overs) 218
Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-44, 3-65, 4-72, 5-72, 6-76, 7-96, 8-189, 9-193.

Bowling: V Malik 20-7-30-5, A Thakur 19.1-6-45-3, V Bhatia 11-1-50-0, S Singh 11-3-28-2, A Agarwal 5-0-30-0, S Sharma 6-0-19-0.

Himachal Pradesh second innings
A Bassi run out 6
S Sharma batting 19
S Singh batting 7
Extras (b-1, lb-1, nb-1) 3
Total (for one wicket, 15 overs) 35
Fall of wickets: 1-15.

Bowling: S Panda 3-1-3-0, M Diwakar 7-1-17-0, S S Rao 4-1-9-0, S Khan 1-0-4-0.

--------------------

Orissa take 189-run lead

Orissa gained a big 189-run first innings lead over hosts Saurashtra on the second day of their Plate Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match played here today.

Saurashtra were 21 for the loss of two wickets in their second innings with S Jogiyani (5) and V Vegda (0) being the two not out batsmen when stumps were drawn for the day.

Earlier, resuming at their overnight score 98 for four, Orissa were all out for 349 with P Mullick cracking 123 runs off 203 balls which included 17 fours and a six while R R Parida (96) missed his century by just four runs.

Both Parida and Mullick, who came together when the visitors were precariously placed at 50 for 4, batted responsibly and added 186 runs for the fifth wicket.

However, after Parida and Mullick departed, the remaining Orissa batsmen could not last long and the team folded up for 349 for a lead of 189 runs. Saurashtra had made 160 in the first innings.

For the hosts, left-arm seamer Sandeep Jobanputra claimed six wickets for 126 runs while Sandeep Maniar bagged three wicket for 108 runs.

Scoreboard:

Saurashtra Ist Innings: 160

Orissa Ist Innings (Overnight 98 for 4):
S S Das c Dhruv b Maniar 18
S Singh b Jobanputra 1
R R Parida c Jogiyani b Jobanputra 96
S Raul c Dhruv b Jobanputra 6
P Jaychandra lbw Thanki 3
P Mullick c Rathod b Jobanputra 123
R Mohanty c Jogiyani b Jobanputra 24
Bipin Singh b Maniar 34
D Mohanty lbw Jobanputra 7
S S Dev c Jogiyani b Maniar 15
D Mangaraj not out 10
Extras: (lb 1, nb 10, w 1) 12
Total: (all out in 111.5 overs) 349
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-35, 3-47, 4-50, 5-238, 6-262, 7-292, 8-314, 9-336.

Bowling: S Jobanputra 38-6-126-6, S Maniar 32.5-8-108-3, M Thanki 10-3-21-1, Dhruv 14-6-27-0, V Vegda 8-1-36-0, J Shah 6-0-18-0, S Kotak 1-0-3-0, N Rathod 2-0-9-0.

Ranji Trophy: Complete coverage