Report

Paliwal, Yadav ensure advantage for Services

A round-up of the second day of Ranji Trophy's Group C matches on December 16, 2012

Jammu and Kashmir 85 and 136 for 6 (Ian Dev 52, Yadav 4-39), Services 221 (Paliwal 120, Sarabjit 40, Dayal 5-71) - Scores level
Rajat Paliwal scored his third century this season to provide Services with a handy first-innings lead against Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi, before their bowlers, led by Suraj Yadav, reduced their opponents to 136 for 6 at stumps, giving them the upper hand. The second day was not as rewarding as the first, on which 16 wickets had fallen, but batsmen didn't flourish effortlessly either.
Resuming at 150 for 6 after having bowled J&K out for 85 on the previous day, Paliwal and Sarabjit Singh stuck together for another 7.3 overs before Sarabjit was out, breaking a 138-run stand. The remaining batsmen couldn't provide much resistance, and Paliwal struggled to find partners. After scoring 120, his was the final wicket to fall. J&K began positively as their openers put on 40 runs, but wickets started falling thereafter through seamers Suraj Yadav and Nishan Singh, punctuated by small partnerships. Opener Ian Dev Singh featured in four of those, and reached a half-century before being dismissed. At stumps, their team had erased the deficit, but at the cost of six wickets.
Tripura 55 for 4 (Manukrishnan 4-20) trail Kerala 400 (Prem 170, Hegde 36, Chanda 4-77) by 345 runs
Kerala turned its screws on Tripura by piling a total of 400, led by captain Rohan Prem's big century, and reducing them to 55 for 4 at stumps on the second day in Agartala. Prem added 65 runs to his overnight score of 105, striking three partnerships, the most prolific one worth 88 with comeback India seamer Sreesanth, who is returning from a rehabilitation following a toe surgery. The duo helped their team reach 400.
Their bowlers built on the advantage of the big score by taking early wickets. By the 18th over, four top-order wickets had fallen, all claimed by seamer Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan in his third first-class game. Opener Shubhrajit Roy and Abhijit Dey added 34 runs before close of play.
Andhra 132 for 4 (Muzumdar 41*) trail Jharkhand 257 (Tiwary 119, Nadeem 51, Sahabuddin 4-39, Vijaykumar 4-55) by 125 runs
Andhra marginally held the advantage in their battle against Jharkhand, who were taken to a middling score of 257 by their middle-order batsman Saurabh Tiwary, and then milked for 45 overs so Andhra could end the day within 125 runs of the total. Tiwary, unbeaten on 73 overnight, scored a crucial century, and struck a productive stand of 74 with captain Shahbaz Nadeem, who scored a fifty.
In reply, Andhra were four down for 54 in the 23rd over, but Amol Muzumdar and AG Pradeep set about rebuilding the innings.
Goa 118 for 1 (Asnodkar 64) trail Himachal Pradesh 338 (A Kumar 86, M Sharma 73, Rahul 47, Karanveer 39, Gawas 4-109, Jakati-78) by 220 runs
In Porvorim, Goa laid the foundation for a strong first-innings total after bowling Himachal Pradesh out for 338. Their openers had added 58 runs 28.5 overs before the stand was broken, but Asnodkar went on to score a half-century in the company of No. 3 Amogh Sunil Desai, to take his team to 118 for 1 at close of play.
This was after their bowlers toiled to end Himachal's innings. Himachal's lower order, especially, Rishi Dhawan, Karanveer Singh and No. 10 Rahul Singh stretched their total after they had been reduced to 243 for 8.