Nadeem's 12-wicket haul gives Jharkhand second win
A round-up of the fourth day's play from the third round of Group B matches in Ranji Trophy 2016-17
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Oct-2016
Shahbaz Nadeem finished with match figures of 12 for 168 • ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Jharkhand overcame a stubborn 87-run partnership for the ninth wicket from Rajasthan batsmen Chetan Bist and Aniket Choudhary to complete a 42-run victory in Vadodara. Their second win in three matches hauled Jharkhand to the top of Group B, after they bowled Rajasthan out for 237.
Rajasthan resumed their chase of 280 from an overnight score of 67 for 3 but soon slumped to 137 for 8, losing wickets to left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and offspinner Sunny Gupta. Bist and Choudhary then resisted for 27.3 overs, hauling the score past 200 before the stand was broken. Eight overs after Choudhary was dismissed for 32, Jharkhand broke Bist's defiance, with the batsman falling for a 136-ball 77 which included six fours and a six. Nadeem, who had taken two wickets on the third day, completed his five-for, taking his match haul to 12 for 168.
Assam salvaged a draw, reaching 73 for 2 in their second innings after Vidarbha enforced the follow-on on the final day in Thumba. Resuming on 98 for 3 on Sunday, Assam were bowled out for 227 as left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate ran through the middle and lower order, taking 5 for 72. Assam's batsmen got off to starts but the top score, of 44 not out, came from Swarupam Purkayastha at No. 9. Having taken a 189-run lead, Vidarbha asked Assam to bat again and the pair of Rahul Hazarika and Amit Verma saw the side through after they lost two wickets.
Saurashtra required eight wickets on the last day to register an innings win against Maharashtra, but a debut century from Murtaza Trunkwala and a stubborn lower order ended the match in a draw in Vizianagaram. Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took four wickets, but Saurashtra could only take six of the eight wickets they needed as Maharashtra ended on 345 for 8.
Resuming their second innings on 114 for 2, after following-on, they were led by Trunkwala's 117 before he fell in the 33rd over of the day. Further contributions from the middle order, led by No. 4 Ankit Bawne's 60, helped them hang on and salvage one point compared to Saurashtra's three. Maharashtra were 230 for 5 when Bawne was bowled by Jadeja, with over 50 overs left in the day, but Chirag Khurana (44), Vishant More (39) and Shrikant Mundhe (24) led them to the draw even as Jadeja ended with a match haul of 9 for 105.