Report

Bengal set Vidarbha 297 target

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group A matches on November 9, 2015

File photo - Pragyan Ojha rattled Vidarbha with a seven-wicket haul  •  BCCI

File photo - Pragyan Ojha rattled Vidarbha with a seven-wicket haul  •  BCCI

Vidarbha 3 for 0 and 202 (Fazal 63, Wagh 60*, Ojha 7-58) need another 297 runs to beat Bengal 334 (Chatterjee 116, Wakhare 4-85) and 164 (Tiwary 63, Wakhare 5-61)
Scorecard
A five-wicket haul from Akshay Wakhare bowled Bengal out for 164, but the hosts' massive first-innings lead meant Vidarbha needed a challenging 297 for only their third win of the season. Starting the day at 141 for 7, Vidarbha managed their way to 202, thanks to Shrikant Wagh's unbeaten 60. But only two other batsman managed double-digit scores, as Pragyan Ojha took 7 for 58 to bundle Vidarbha out in 69.1 overs and earn Bengal a lead of 132 runs. Bengal, however, lost wickets at regular intervals in their second dig, with only the captain Manoj Tiwary (63) producing a score of note. Wakhare collected 5 for 61 from his 22 overs, while Wagh chipped in with 3 for 27 to skittle Bengal in 62.5 overs. Vidarbha were 3 for 0 in their second innings when stumps were called.
Assam 120 and 122 for 4 (Karthik 48, Hooda 2-53) need 38 to beat Haryana 168 and 111 (Rana 27, Arup 6-39, Krishna 4-48)
Scorecard
Eleven wickets fell in Lahli as Asam edged closer to their second win of the season. Arup Das took six wickets while the other Das -Krishna- claimed four to wipe out Haryana for 111 in 50.3 overs.
Himanshu Rana top-scored with 27 and was among three batsmen to have passed 18. The fall of wickets seeped into Assam's second innings as well with Ashish Hooda dismissing both openers. Tarjinder Singh, coming in at No.3, fell to Mohit Sharma for a 12-ball duck, but Amit Verma and Arun Karthik steadied Assam with a 76-run partnership.
Offspinner Jayant Yadav had Karthik stumped four overs before stumps while Verma stayed unbeaten on 24 with the visitors 38 runs away from the target.
Odisha 232 and 0 for 1 trail Karnataka 400 for 9 dec (Uthappa 148, Nair 73, Pradhan 3-94, Dhiraj 3-156) by 168 runs
Scorecard
Robin Uthappa struck his second successive century to lead Karnataka to 400, from an overnight 255 for 3, before the defending champions declared. Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh and pacer Suryakant Pradhan shared six wickets between them.
While Uthappa made 148 off 257 balls, the other overnight batsman Karun Nair hit 73 before he became Dhiraj's first victim. Odisha began poorly again, with one of their openers bagging a duck (Natraj Behera in the first innings and Rajesh Dhuper in the second). Odisha are still 168 runs in arrears.