Deshpande, Samarth give Karnataka first-innings advantage
A round-up of the final round of Ranji Trophy matches from Group B on December 8, 2016
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Dec-2016
File photo: R Samarth made his ninth first-class fifty • PTI
Saurashtra opener Kishan Parmar, who was playing his second first-class match, struck his maiden century to revive his team from 130 for 5 to 234 for 5 against Delhi in Vadodara. Saurashtra closed the day with a lead of 89 runs.
Seamer Navdeep Saini and offspinning allrounder Nitish Rana had done the damage with the ball, sharing four wickets between them. This came after Delhi's lower order, led by Pradeep Sangwan's 75 off 100 balls, opened up a first-innings lead of 145. Sangwan was briefly assisted by Manan Sharma (33) in a 62-run stand for the eighth wicket to frustrate Saurashtra. Kushang Patel, the new-ball bowler, picked up his third five-for in first-class cricket as Delhi were dismissed for 237 in 58.3 overs.
Half-centuries from debutant Pavan Deshpande and opener R Samarth helped Karnataka gain the upper hand over Maharashtra in Mohali. Resuming on 67 for 1, Karnataka were ahead by 150 as they ended on 313 for 9, with the second-wicket stand of 101 between Kaunain Abbas (41) and Samarth (64) forming the bedrock of the innings. Deshpande then helped consolidate the lead with Stuart Binny and CM Gautam.
Karnataka, who could have been down to 10 players after Maharashtra denied them a replacement for Manish Pandey, who was called-up to the India Test squad as a replacement for the injured Ajinkya Rahane, were handed a reprieve after Swapnil Gugale, the opposition captain, did a U-turn. David Mathias, the fast bowler, came in to bat at No. 7 but fell cheaply. Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka captain, struck an unbeaten 36 to all but knock Maharashtra, who need an outright win, out of contention.
Left-arm seamer Tanvir Ul-Haq negated Vidarbha's advantage as Rajasthan, bowled out for 140, came storming back to dismiss their opponents for 116 in Greater Noida. Tanvir finished with career-best figures of 6 for 21 in 10.3 overs as the Vidarbha innings lasted just 41.3 overs after bad light delayed start of play by over an hour. Siddesh Wath, the wicketkeeper-batsman, playing his second first-class game, top-scored with 50. Rajasthan's openers Manendar Singh and AV Gautam batted 11 overs to end on 10 without loss.