Report

Railways collapse hands Gujarat big win

A round-up of the fourth day's play from the third round of Group A matches in Ranji Trophy 2016-17

File photo - Siddhesh Lad's unbeaten 100 ensured Mumbai took points for their first-innings lead over Madhya Pradesh  •  AFP

File photo - Siddhesh Lad's unbeaten 100 ensured Mumbai took points for their first-innings lead over Madhya Pradesh  •  AFP

Railways lost six wickets for 30 runs on the fourth day, lurching from 176 for 4 to 206 all out, to hand Gujarat a 294-run victory in Lahli. Resuming from a score of 171 for 4 in a mammoth chase of 501, Railways lasted only 16.2 overs as seamers Ishwar Chaudhary and Rush Kalaria and debutant offspinner Karan Patel mopped up the lower order once overnight batsman Mahesh Rawat was dismissed for 54 in the fourth over of the day. Chaudhary, Kalaria and Patel finished with three wickets each.
Unbeaten centuries from Siddhesh Lad and Abhishek Nayar helped Mumbai bag three points in a high-scoring draw against Madhya Pradesh in Raipur. The pair added 200 runs in an eighth-wicket partnership, taking Mumbai to 568 for 7 declared in response to MP's total of 445. Mumbai's prospects of a first-innings lead looked shaky early on the fourth day as both overnight batsmen, Tushar Deshpande (62) and Akhil Herwadkar (153), were dismissed by left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma within seven overs. Their wickets left the score at 368 for 7 before Nayar and Lad swung the match for Mumbai with their decisive partnership. Lad, who had scored 100* against the New Zealanders in a tour match in Delhi last month, finished on the same score in Raipur, taking 171 balls for his knock with eight fours. Nayar's 103 not out, on the other hand, came off 184 balls with nine fours and a six.
B Indrajith's unbeaten 127 could not give Tamil Nadu a first-innings lead, as the team fell 44 runs short of Uttar Pradesh's total of 524 in a drawn match in Dharamsala. Tamil Nadu were on the back foot at the start of day four, with an overnight score of 398 for 6, and Indrajith, who was on 70 in the morning, did most of the heavy lifting, shepherding the tail and bringing up his third first-class century. He ran out of partners, however, as seamer Ankit Rajpoot struck twice to finish with a four-wicket haul. Tanmay Srivastava then struck 59 not out as Uttar Pradesh closed the day at 114 for 1 declared after batting for 49 overs.
Pragyan Ojha and debutant seamer Amit Kuila picked up seven wickets between them to bowl Bengal to their first win of the season, against Punjab in Bilaspur. Chasing 360, Punjab were bowled out for 244 in the dying moments of play under fading light with debutant Ayan Bhattacharya breaking the last-wicket stand of 55 with the wicket of second-highest scorer Manpreet Gony.
Bengal, who claimed a 133-run lead, were all out for 226 in the second innings, losing their last five wickets on Sunday morning for 34 runs. Captain Manoj Tiwary held fort with 92, even as Siddarth Kaul, the right-arm quick, finished with 6 for 57, his seventh first-class five-for in nine years. Punjab were driven by a 100-run opening stand between Manan Vohra (75) and Jiwanjot Singh (44). Ashok Dinda, Bengal's pace spearhead, broke the stand to trigger a downfall before Ojha and Kuila took over. Ojha finished with 4 for 70, including the wicket of Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh for 26, after he went wicketless in the first innings.