Report

Sunny Singh smashes triple-century, sets record

A round-up of the second day's action of the first round of matches in the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy Plate League

Cricinfo staff
04-Nov-2009
Sunny Singh smashed 44 fours and seven sixes  •  AFP

Sunny Singh smashed 44 fours and seven sixes  •  AFP

Group B

Madhya Pradesh 113 for 1 trail Haryana 546 (Sunny 312, Sumeet 45) by 430 runs
Scorecard
Sunny Singh, the right-hand batsman, became the first player from Haryana to score a triple-century as his team ended the second day in Indore on a commanding 546 against Madhya Pradesh. It was a brisk triple-hundred, which came at a strike-rate of 93.69 with 44 fours and seven sixes. Sumeet Sharma supported him with a stand of 71 for the sixth wicket to extend Haryana's domination. Sunny went past Ajay Jadeja's 256, a Haryana record which stood for nearly 18 years. Jadeja's feat came against Services in Faridabad in the 1991-92 season. Sunny's epic ended when he was stumped by Naman Ojha off Abbas Ali for 312. Madhya Pradesh lost Ojha for 31 but ended the day in a good position at 113 for 1.
Sunny was thrilled at entering the record books but remained aware of the bigger target for his team this season. "It's special being the first triple centurion of the season, but what makes it more so is that it's the first from my state," he told the Hindustan Times. "My goal this year will be to lift the team to the Elite Group."
Kerala 10 for 0 trail Andhra 442 (Sahabuddin 120, Sumanth 117) by 432 runs
Scorecard
Syed Sahabuddin marked his comeback to the Andhra squad (from the ICL) with a century and with his captain B Sumanth, who also scored a hundred, took Andhra to a strong 442 against Kerala at Kannur. The Kerala bowlers had to toil for nearly 60 overs to dislodge the overnight pair of Sahabuddin and Sumanth, who added 194 for the sixth wicket. Padmanabhan Prashanth finally got the breakthrough when he got rid of Sahabuddin for 120. Sachin Baby soon accounted for Sumanth with the score on 412. Sreekumar Nair was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 52 but Sreesanth went wicketless in his 23 overs.

Group A

Tripura 116 for 3 (Shetty 36*) trail Jharkhand 431 (Gautham 95*) by 315 runs
Scorecard
Jharkhand's Shiv Gautham was denied a century on first-class debut by a narrow five runs but he took his team to a position of strength, setting up a total of 431 against Tripura at the Metallurgical and Engineering Consultant Limited Sail Stadium in Ranchi. Jharkhand were in danger of being bowled out for a lesser score, but a ninth-wicket stand of 86 between Gautham and Varun Aaron lifted them. It was upto Rahul Shukla, the No.11, to stick around as Gautham neared a century, but a run-out left him stranded on 95. His innings included eight fours and two sixes. Shukla, however, contributed with the ball as he picked up two wickets to reduce Tripura to 116 for 3 at stumps.
Rajasthan 228 and 54 for 2 (Ahmed 2-14) lead Assam 189 (Aziz 53, Pankaj 4-44, Yadav 4-28) by 93 runs
Scorecard
Four-wicket hauls by Pankaj Singh and Vivek Yadav helped Rajasthan gain control with a first-innings lead of 39 in Guwahati. Assam lost the plot after a strong opening stand of 87 between Parvez Aziz and Dheeraj Jadhav, losing their last nine wickets for 86 runs. Pankaj, the right-arm seamer who was a fringe player during India's tour of Australia in 2007-08, took the important wickets of Aziz and Amol Muzumdar while Yadav, the legspinner, chipped away at the middle and lower-order. The lack of partnerships hurt Assam as they folded for a disappointing 189. Rajasthan were jolted by Abu Nechim Ahmed's double-strike in an over but debutant opener Ankit Lamba hung on till stumps to ensure no further losses.
Vidarbha 113 for 2 (Paunikar 47*) trail Goa 474 (Ratra 121, Bandekar 100) by 361 runs
Scorecard
Ajay Ratra and Saurabh Bandekar scored centuries to propel Goa to 474 in Nagpur. The home side were steady in their reply, reaching 113 for 2 at stumps. Ratra, unbeaten overnight on 84, went on to score 121 off 221 balls while his partner Bandekar was more aggressive, consuming 153 balls for his 100. Both were dismissed by legspinner Azhar Sheikh, who finished with 4 for 71. Their 176-run stand for the sixth wicket was the driving force behind the Goa innings. A ninth-wicket stand of 49 between Shadab Jakati and Amit Yadav frustrated Vidarbha as they pushed the score past 450. Vidarbha lost two wickets in quick succession to Kshemal Waingankar after a half-century opening stand but Amit Paunikar was steady till stumps with an unbeaten 47.