It's a wrap of day two
It was a day full of runs mostly and wickets in some parts as well on the second day of the second round of this Ranji Trophy. Here are the highlights as things heat up for selection ahead of the Australia tour:
A reminder that you can access all the live scorecards right here for all 16 matches of the Elite league.
Shreyas Iyer spoke about making a Test comeback after it was stumps in Mumbai. We'll get that story up on this platform soon enough. Ciao ciao!
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The day of runs ends in Delhi
Stumps: Tamil Nadu amassed 674 for 6 after batting almost the entire day, with a double-century for Sai Sudharson (213), and centuries for Washington Sundar (152) and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (117). Tamil Nadu continue their domination after they hammered Saurashtra at home earlier. Delhi did well to end the day wicketless after facing 16 overs for 43 runs.
Not that far from Delhi - only a little far - in Dharamsala, hosts Himachal Pradesh were made to follow-on after Deepak Chahar's new-ball burst of 5 for 30 bundled them for 98 in reply to Rajasthan's 334. In their second attempt, HP finish the day on 147 for 2.
Punjab bowl out MP, no wickets for Arshdeep
It's stumps in Mullanpur as soon as MP are all out for 207, which means a pretty decent lead of 70 for Punjab. The hosts earlier scored 277 with only one wicket for Avesh Khan, before captain Shubham Sharma carried his fine form following his 143* against Karnataka in the opening round. He scored 61 and Rajat Patidar 90 as Arshdeep Singh went wicketless.
Chhattisgarh captain gets 200
On 57 not out overnight, Amandeep Khare has converted it into a century and then into a double-century with the help of 20 fours and four sixes. He has powered Chhattisgarh to 572 for 6 against Saurashtra, who had been thrashed by Tamil Nadu in the opening round in Coimbatore. And this is a home game for Saurashtra. They'll hope Pujara and Sheldon Jackson get some big runs here, among others. But that's once they get to bat...
Update: And it's stumps soon after the milestone. Chhattisgarh end the day on 578 for 7.
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Another fifty for Gaikwad
He's set to leave the Ranji Trophy after this game to most likely lead the India A squad for two red-ball games in Australia. As far as runs go, he is behind Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran in the queue for the reserve opener's spot for the five-Test series, but this half-century against Mumbai off just 45 balls, after his 86 against J&K, will only help is case.
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Sun has started to set
It's stumps in a couple of games:
In Ahmedabad, Andhra are in trouble against hosts Gujarat and end the day on 137 for 5, still trailing by a healthy 230 runs. Hanuma Vihari and captain Ricky Bhui are gone, as they were 29 for 5, before KS Bharat and Nitish Kumar Reddy stitched a century stand. Bharat is batting on 78 and Reddy on 34.
Chandigarh have taken a decent lead against Assam. Raj Angad Bawa of Under-19 fame has struck his maiden first-class hundred and is on 122 overnight.
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Not just Delhi vs Tamil Nadu
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Tamil Nadu declare
674 Tamil Nadu's final score
Finally some respite for the Delhi bowlers after toiling and sweating for nearly 10 overs. They had to endure a classy double-century from Sai Sudharsan and then a knock of 152, and a century from Pradosh Ranjan Paul too. And the declaration came soon after a maiden fifty for Andre Siddarth, says Daya Sagar:
"Maiden half-century for 18-year lad Andre Siddarth. It’s his second first-class game and has come in the place of the experienced Vijay Shankar. He struck some beautiful strokes and completed his half-century in 84 balls with six fours. After going past 50, he smacked three fours in the next over of Himanshu Chauhan."
Shreyas drops Sachin
Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has dropped himself to No. 3 today - although he had to come out in the first over - and Sachin Dhas opened instead. Batting on 9, Dhas almost steered one - not edged - to first slip where Shreyas Iyer puts one down around chest height. Looks like he has hurt himself and Iyer has now gone off the field.
Maharashtra 22 for 1, still trailing by a gargantuan 293.
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Chai time
Two sessions done, one to go. Let's do a recap before I pour myself some tea...
- Shreyas Iyer scored a century in red-ball format after nearly three years, soon after his 17-year-old team-mate Ayush Mhatre fell for 176. Mumbai are all out for 441 and have a lead of 315 against Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu are piling it up on a flat track in Delhi. Washington Sundar scored 152 after Sai Sudharsan's 213. Great signs for Indian cricket before the squad selection for Australia tour
- Deepak Chahar has bagged a five-for against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala. His 10-3-30-5 helped wrap up HP for 98 and they're following-on against Rajasthan. Do you even recall what he looked like in whites?
- There's a rain interruption in Thumba, where Sanju Samson is batting on 15 off 13 against Karnataka
- Yash Dayal has not had any success today for UP against Haryana. He picked up one wicket with the new ball yesterday, but nothing since
A love story with Delhi
Tamil Nadu resident and my colleague Deiva Muthu has his eyes on the game in Delhi from far, far away...
"TN are 621 for 5 at drinks on the second day in the post-lunch session. This is already their eighth-highest total in their first-class history and highest since 2011-12, when they amassed 698 for 8 against Gujarat at Motera, where Abhinav Mukund, S Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik and K Vasudevadas, the current state selector, all hit hundreds. Vasudevadas will be particularly pleased with how the youngsters are responding this season. Twenty-three-year-old Pradosh Ranjan Paul, who has had a stint with the India A team, has now moved to his century in Delhi while 18-year-old Andre Siddarth, picked ahead of former captain and senior allrounder Vijay Shankar, is closing in on his maiden Ranji half-century.
"TN are already without their designated captain R Sai Kishore, who will be in action later tonight for India A against Pakistan Shaheens in the T20 Emerging Asia Cup in Oman. They will soon lose their best batters B Sai Sudharsan and B Indrajith to the India A team, for the Australia tour starting October 31. Sandeep Warrier is still injured and recuperating at the NCA in Bengaluru, but the next crop of players is emerging for TN."
And Daya Sagar says there's a love story brewing there:
"Left-handed batter Pradosh Ranjan Paul had debuted against Delhi in 2019 and made a beautiful 79. When he came to Delhi in 2022, he scored 124 in the only innings. Now after two years, he has yet again smacked a century against his favourite team. He went for a push to long-off against offspinner Mayank Rawat and brought up his sixth first-class century. It’s his third 50-plus score against Delhi in four innings. He averages over 140 against them."
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Fifty for Rajat Patidar
No big score in the three Duleep Trophy games, a knock of 31 in the opening game of this Ranji Trophy against Karnataka, but now Rajat Patidar has gone past 50, playing a patient knock off 95 balls, opposite Punjab in Mullanpur. MP are 151 for 4, still trailing by 126 runs. Who will take the lead?
New tactics in Old Delhi...
Still no play for Bengal vs Bihar
No play on the first day and it's called off for the second day as well. Incessant rain in Kalyani, which is 50-off kilometres outside Kolkata, has washed out half the game. There will apparently be some sun coming out tomorrow, so let's hope there's some play as well.
Bengal had drawn their first game, against UP in Lucknow, and another draw, this one at home, will leave them with lots to do for the remaining rounds.
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Washington Sundar's 152
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Shreyas Iyer gone for 142
He was pulling, he was driving and he was punching. And when Shreyas Iyer lunges forward to defend against left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj, he is hit on the pad and given lbw. Mumbai 404 for 8 and leading by a massive 278 against Maharashtra.
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98 all out
It doesn't quite sound like 81 all out, but Rajasthan will be thrilled about bundling Himachal Pradesh under 100 for a massive lead of 236 runs. Will they make HP follow-on? Let's see, let's see. What a slide for HP though, after they had amassed 663 for 3 in the opening round against Uttarakhand for an innings win.
Deepak Chahar was the wrecker-in-chief for Rajasthan taking 5 for 30 from his 10 overs. Who would have thought he would return to red-ball cricket if not for...
Finally a wicket for a Delhi spinner
Non-stop action at the Kotla is keeping Daya Sagar awake after a heavy lunch:
"After bowling as many as 131 overs, a Delhi spinner finally has a wicket. After an impressive start of a four and a six, Shahrukh Khan went for a reverse sweep on a length ball off left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi, and Himanshu Chauhan made no mistake at backward point. Now it’s time for 18-year-old C Andre Siddarth, whom cricket pundits rate highly in Tamil Nadu cricket. It is only his second first-class match and on this pitch he would want to make it big. Btw, Pradosh Ranjan Paul is closing in on his century steadily. He is in the 70s now."
Another fifty for captain Krunal
Baroda captain Krunal Pandya had played a key role with a 55 in the second innings against Mumbai that set up their victory at home. Now in an away fixture against Services, he has scored another fifty, while batting with opener Shivalik Sharma who is on 175. Baroda going strong at 387 for 4
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Washington gone for 152
Daya Sagar has survived the lavish lunch at Kotla (scroll down for the picture) but Washington is gone.
"Lunch break breaks the momentum for Washington Sundar and he departs after completing his 150. It was only the fifth over after Llunch; he went for a cut but the delivery from Himanshu Chauhan was close to the body. The ball went in the air and Sanat Sangwan at gully caught it after fumbling twice. Shahrukh Khan is the new batter and he opened his account by driving a full ball through the cover-point area for four.
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SKYfall
Adele is on a break and its ripples have reached Mumbai. Suryakumar Yadav miscues his slog sweep and hands a simple catch in the circle around square leg. Gone for just 7 after his scores of 5 and 16 in the Duleep Trophy.
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And it's lunch time
12pm is the usual lunch time in Ranji Trophy except for the matches in the east and north east, which start earlier. Here are the highlights from the first session:
- Mumbai are stretching their lead against Maharashtra with centuries from 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre and Shreyas Iyer. Suryakumar is batting with Shreyas at lunch
- Deepak Chahar has bagged a five-for against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala. His current figures at 10-3-30-5 and HP are reeling at 62 for 7
- Tamil Nadu have absolutely demolished Delhi in their backyard. Sai Sudharsan fell for 213 earlier in the day and now Washington Sundar is closing in on 150
- Sanju Samson is in action for Kerala against Karnataka in Alur, the outskirts of Bengaluru. He's come out at 144 for 3 and batting on 15 with captain Sachin Baby
- Yash Dayal has been wicketless today. He bowled Haryana opener Lakshya Suman Dalal yesterday but has had no success today. Haryana 319 for 6
- Ishan Kishan scored 101 yesterday with 13 fours and two sixes against Railways. And now Jharkhand are 377 for 7 after a century from captain Virat Singh as well
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Tamil Nadu flatten Delhi further
Tamil Nadu have crossed 500 and they're just three down at the Kotla. Here's Daya Sagar:
"Tamil Nadu’s batters are enjoying the flat Kotla pitch and making the most of it. Out of five batters, four scored 50-plus runs. Only Baba Indrajith missed the party who played on off a nip backer from medium-pacer Himanshu Chauhan, after smashing two boundaries in that over. Delhi’s inexperienced spinners have hardly anything to offer on this flat pitch and have leaked plenty of runs. Pradosh Ranjan Paul made a rapid half-century in 66 balls, while Washington Sundar is closing in on his 150. Tamil Nadu are 507 for 3 at lunch and they will be looking for 600-plus till tea so they can invite Delhi batters in the last session."
Century for Shreyas Iyer
38 Innings since Shreyas Iyer scored his last first-class hundred
A punch to mid-on and Shreyas Iyer gets to three figures, nearly three years after his last century in red-ball cricket, which came on his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur. Been a while
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SKY joins Iyer after 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre's 176
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has joined IPL's latest title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer in the middle in Mumbai. And that's because 17-year-old opener Ayush Mhatre, who scored a century yesterday, has fallen for 176. He was looking solid and classy against both pace and spin, and just three balls after he smacked left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj over long-on for six, he punches one straight to midwicket.
His maiden first-class hundred, a chanceless knock against a much more experienced bowling attack. If Musheer Khan wasn't enough, Mumbai have another teenage sensation in their ranks.
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Five for Deepak Chahar, 150 for Ayush Mhatre
Look who's back with the red ball. It's Deepak Chahar, who also played the opening round game for Rajasthan against Puducherry. But today in Dharamsala, the swing bowler has bagged five wickets in as many overs to bring Himachal Pradesh down to 34 for 6. The last time he played two Ranji games in a season was in 2018-19.
Have a look at Chahar's spell so far (which isn't over yet): 5-1-20-5
Over in Mumbai, where I am in this merciless heat, Mumbai have marched along to 300 soon after their teenager Ayush Mhatre went past 150. Shreyas Iyer is on 83 right now, looking better than yesterday, and Mhatre is looking as solid as he was, with confident flicks, drives and back-foot punches. Mumbai are bossing Maharashtra here now that the sun is out after some overnight rain.
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The race is on for Australia...
It's raining in Bengaluru and it's raining options for the BCCI selectors as well as the Australia tour gets closer. Let's see who you pick from the below options.
Reserve opener: Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan have been amassing runs in the first-class circuit? Does Ruturaj Gaikwad also have a chance? He scored 86 in the opening round of Ranji Trophy and two half-centuries in Duleep Trophy too.
India may also pick a left-arm quick for the variety they offer.
Who will be the fast bowlers apart from Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep, if Shami is not fit?
A bunch of those players - Sai Sudharsan, Easwaran, Gaikwad, and even Ishan Kishan have been picked in the India A squad for the tour of Australia that's going to start on October 31 for two four-day matches.
India A squad for tour of Australia: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Yash Dayal.
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Cricket, cricket everywhere
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Rajasthan, Punjab all out
Rajathan No. 5 Mahipal Lomror is gone for 99 as Rajasthan have wrapped up for 334 after being 304 for 7 overnight, against Himachal Pradesh. Five wickets for left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar.
Punjab have managed a much lower total of 277 against Madhya Pradesh. They managed just 23 runs this morning from their 254 for 7, with Salil Arora scoring 101 and Sukhwinder Singh (Punjab's offspinner, not the singer) smashing 66.
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Gujarat's lower order frustrates Andhra
Gujarat were 289 for 8 overnight and Andhra would have hoped to wrap them up under 300. But the home captain Chintan Gaja (No. 7) and fast bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla are now going on and on. Gaja has raced from his overnight 38 to 79 in 43 balls whereas Nagwaswalla is also not far behind on 73. The partnership is worth 142 runs and Andhra aren't liking it at all.
Here comes the fun...
Also from the Mumbai school of batting is Shreyas Iyer, who has just brought up his half-century off 66 balls. Mumbai 230 for 3, ahead by 104 against Maharashtra.
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Century for Washington Sundar, century for Sarfaraz
Sarfaraz Khan brings up a 110-ball century in Bengaluru and his former India Under-19 team-mate does the same in Delhi. Daya Sagar chimes in again: "Just the second first-class hundred for Washington Sundar. Although it was an edge and the ball went between second slip and gully, he has looked quite confident throughout the innings and enjoying his promotion in the batting line-up. After an 87 in Duleep Trophy it would surely increase his confidence and he will be hoping for another Australia tour."
But his partner Sai Sudharsan goes for 213 almost immediately. Daya is having a busy morning , unlike me: "Wicket for Saini! It was not a great ball but Sai Sudharsan has to depart. A length ball on the hips, Sudharsan wanted to glance it but the ball just brushed the bat and Delhi’s debutant wicketkeeper Pranav Rajvanshi makes no mistake. The second wicket finally comes for Delhi, it's the second wicket for Saini too. Domestic run machine Baba Indrajith joins Washington.
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Delayed start in Mumbai, flat surface in Delhi
There was some overnight rain in Mumbai so the start is delayed by half hour, for 10am. Some parts of the ground are damp but the two camps are training in opposite corners of the ground. It's pretty overcast here at the Bandra Kurla Complex. Who is Ayush Mhatre, you're wondering - the 17-year-old centurion? We have all the information here.
My colleague Daya Sagar is in the city I grew up in (partially) - in Delhi - and he has his eyes on Tamil Nadu vs Delhi:
"It’s a sunny morning in Delhi. Two left handers Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar are at the crease. One is a double-centurion, and he will want to make it big on a flat surface and ineffective Delhi bowling attack. On the other hand, Washington is in his 90s and will go for his century. Navdeep Saini is in the attack from the far end.
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Day two, round two, take two
Runs, runs and runs. That's what Friday was about. I'm not just talking about the India batters' fightback in Bengaluru, but all across the country in the second round of Ranji Trophy we saw plenty of runs - especially through centuries - being piled up through the day. Sai Sudharsan took the race between him and Abhimanyu Easwaran for the Australia tour up a notch with an unbeaten double century, Ishan Kishan reminded us of his red-ball credentials with a hundred (in the company of his centurion team-mate Virat Singh), Abdul Samad blasted 127 off 117, and Mumbai saw a new centurion in 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who's batting with Shreyas Iyer (45*). What could be in store for us this weekend? A very good morning to all Ranji Trophy followers, from me, Vishal Dikshit. I'll bring you all the action over the next two days.
You can bring yourself up to date with all the scorecards right here, and Sreshth's blog from day one here.