Goa halt Saurashtra charge

Goa 239 (Misal 106, Jadeja 3-41) and 299 for 7 dec. (Asnodkar 104, Kauthankar 58, Makvana 3-85) drew with Saurashtra 258 (Barot 56, Rituraj 5-70) and 223 for 5 (Barot 93, Jackson 55, Yadav 3-52)
Scorecard

Late wickets halted Saurashtra's quest to secure their fifth successive win, as they eventually settled for a draw against Goa in Rajkot. Saurashtra, who were set a target of 281, were placed at 223 for 5 when both captains decided no result would be possible.

But the scenario was drastically different in the afternoon as Avi Barot (93) and Sheldon Jackson (55) built on the good work done by Sagar Jogiyani (44) as Saurashtra's brisk scoring rate ensured they were primed for six points. But the wickets of Barot and Jackson brought about a breakdown in momentum, with the lower-middle order unable to get the ball off the square against the turning ball. Amit Yadav, the offspinner, had the best figures for Goa (3 for 52).

The day began with Goa on the attack, trying to build their lead towards 300 before forcing an end to the innings. They began well courtesy Dheeraj Jadhav (50*) and Snehal Kauthankar (58), but a slew of late wickets resulted in a declaration just before lunch. But all that, in the end, amounted to a solitary point that left Goa scrapping for a mid-table position.

More than half the day was lost due to bad light as the match ended in a stalemate, with both sides having to settle for one point each in Dharamsala. Services, who resumed on 344 for 3 in response to Himachal's 531, lost overnight centurions Rajat Paliwal (107) and Yashpal Singh (115) early as Himachal entertained hopes of taking a lead. But they were denied, first by Vikas Hathwala (38) and Khalid Ahmed (35*), and then by bad light as Services were on 448 for 8 when the light that forced players off the field failed to improve before the cut-off time.

The match will be remembered for Paras Dogra's 227 that allowed him to equal Ajay Sharma's record for most double centuries (7) in Ranji history.

Sandeep Warrier, the pacer, took six wickets as Kerala nipped out a 110-run lead over Tripura in Mallapuram, before Rohan Prem drove the game forward with an aggressive unbeaten 72 to set up a declaration on 117 for 4. Needing 228 to win in little over a session, Tripura were on 52 for no loss when bad light ended play early as the hosts walked away with three points.

During the course of his unbeaten 72, Prem, the captain, also overtook Shreyas Iyer to become the leading run-getter this season after six rounds.

Ian Dev Singh's 126 was the lone bright spark for Jammu & Kashmir after they were made to follow-on by Jharkhand in Jamshedpur. The visitors, who were bowled out for 309 in response to Jharkhand's 551 for 8, achieved largely on the back of centuries from Ishan Kishan and Anand Singh, were 265 for 4 when the captains shook hands.

Ian Dev's efforts were complemented first by opener Shubham Khajuria (77), and then later by Mithun Mahnas, who made 50 to go with his 98 in the first innings. J&K are languishing at the sixth spot, while Jharkhand are only a shade better at No. 5.