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Yuvraj and Sharath steal the show

Yuvraj Singh and Sridhran Sharath notched up centuries and took their respective teams to a dominant position at stumps on the second day of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy 2003-04 season

Wisden Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2003
Punjab 224 for 2 (Yuvraj 106*, Dharmani 73*) trail Delhi 310 (Manhas 129, Gagandeep 5-55) by 86 runs
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Yuvraj Singh hit a classy hundred and Pankaj Dharmani stroked to a fine 73 to give Punjab a distinct edge at Chandigarh. Yuvraj's innings contained 16 fours. Earlier Gagandeep Singh's five-for had helped polish off Delhi's lower-middle order and restrict them to 310.
Gujarat 67 for 3 (Christian 50*) trail Tamil Nadu 372 (Sharath 155, Vidyut 50) by 305 runs
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Sridharan Sharath, the Mr Consistent of the domestic circuit, hit up yet another Ranji Trophy century at Ahmedabad on the second day of Tamil Nadu's Elite Group tie against Gujarat. Sharath's 155 formed the spine of an otherwise-tame batting display, with Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan the only other batsman getting to 50. Tamil Nadu managed 372 in their first innings, and their bowlers had taken three Gujarat wickets, conceding only 67 runs, by stumps.
Andhra 15 for 0 trail Mumbai 508 for 6 dec (Mazumdar 115, Kambli 86) by 493 runs
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After dominating the first day, the Mumbai batsmen rolled all over Andhra as they rattled up a mammoth total on the second day at Vijayawada. Amol Mazumdar scored a classy hundred and Vinod Kambli made a breezy 86, in the process adding 133 for the fourth wicket. Andhra, running out of options, tried nine bowlers all day but none produced the desired result.
Assam 288 for 8 (Saravanan 123, Sukhvinder 77*, Paul 5-89) lead Bengal 246 (Shukla 82, Haldipur 67) by 42 runs
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Assam built a 42-run lead over Bengal on the second day at the Eden Gardens. Sathiamoorty Saravanan led the charge with a boundary-studded century. His knock held the innings together, after Assam were tottering at 101 for 5. Saravanan shared a 181-run partnership with Sukhwinder Singh to put their team back in the game. Sukvinder remained unbeaten on 77, with 14 fours. For Bengal, Shib Sankar Paul took the honours with a five-wicket haul, including two in the last over of the day.
Hyderabad 177 and 187 for 6 (Manohar 57) lead Karnataka 100 (Narender Pal 6-31) by 264 runs
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Karnataka squandered their advantage after bowling Hyderabad out for just 177 by being shot out for 100 themselves on the second day. Narender Pal Singh starred with the ball for Hyderabad, taking 6 for 31 in 19.4 overs. Karnataka's highest scorer was Barrington Rowland, who made 28 at the top of the order. Hyderabad then further consolidated their supremacy by advancing to 187 for 6 by stumps, a lead of 264, with the opener Daniel Manohar making a steady 57.
Railways 137 and 145 for 6 lead Uttar Pradesh 71 (Parida 5- 18) by 211 runs
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The low-scoring trend continued on the second day at Varanasi, as Kulamani Parida went on the rampage, bundling out Uttar Pradesh for a measly 71. Parida's dream spell of 5 for 18 gave his side a 66-run lead. By the end of the day, Railways replied with 145 for 6, taking the overall lead to 211. On a track where batsmen have been struggling, barring a superlative effort by UP, those runs may be more than enough for an outright Railways victory.
Baroda 196 for 4 (RA Parab 104) trail Kerala 231 by 35 runs
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Rishikesh Parab compiled a hundred as Baroda closed in on Kerala's first-innings total at Vadodara. Jacob Martin scored a valuable 42 and put on 112 for the third wicket with Jacob Martin. Earlier in the day Kerala added only 24 runs to their overnight total with Rakesh Patel and Tushar Arothe sharing the bowling honours for Baroda. Patel finished with 4 for 85 while Arothe took 4 for 50.
Plate Championship 2nd Round
Maharashtra 77 and 161 for 2 (Jadhav 81*) lead Orissa 204 (Parida 81, Behara 62, Siddique 5-65) by 34 runs
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Although it could not obliterate the humiliation of their first-innings 77, Maharashtra fought back with the ball on the second day, bowling Orissa out for 204. Even that total owed much to Rashmi Ranjan Parida's 81 and Niranjan Behera's 62. For Maharashtra, Iqbal Siddiqui, the former Indian fast bowler, took 5 for 65, while Ranjit Khirid claimed 4 for 51. Maharashtra's second-innings effort was much more significant; opener Dheeraj Jadhav made an unbeaten 81 to steer his side to 161 for 2 at stumps, giving them a lead of 34.
Tripura 41 for 1 trail Haryana 461 for 6 dec (Ganda 95, C Sharma 74, Rawat 68, S Singh 67, J Sharma 52*) by 420 runs
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Ishan Ganda, M Rawat, and Joginder Sharma powered to half-centuries as Haryana declared at 461 for 6. Tripura ended the day on 41, losing the wicket of Ritesh Jaiswal for 14. Earlier, Sharma rubbed Tripura's nose in the dirt, scoring the fifth - and by far the fastest - fifty of the Haryana innings, smacking three sixes and six fours in his unbeaten knock. The sixth half-century was completed by Tripura themselves, as they gave away 57 extras.
Madhya Pradesh 151 for 3 (Ojha 79) trail Vidharbha 387 (Deshpande 126, Naidu 100) by 236 runs
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Vivek Naidu's conversion of his overnight 64 into a round hundred helped spur his side to 387 in their first innings at Indore. Narendra Hirwani, for his part, helped bowl Vidarbha out, taking 4 for 80. In reply, Madhya Pradesh were 151 for 3 by stumps on the second day, with Nikhil Ojha contributing almost half those runs before being stumped for 79 off just 95 balls.
Services 212 and 15 for 1 lead Goa 142 (Ghag 6-34) by 85 runs
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Sudhakar Ghag's haul of 6 for 34 in 28 overs of controlled medium-pace skittled Goa out for 142 in their second innings, giving Services a distinct advantage by the end of the second day. Rajesh Naik top-scored for Goa, surviving 108 balls for his 36. In reply, Services were 15 for 1 - having already lost Amit Pal Singh - at stumps.
Jammu & Kashmir 115 (Shahid 7-25) and 28 for 1 trail Bihar 172 and 159 by 217 runs
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Sixteen wickets fell on the second day at Jammu. Shahid Khan ravaged J&K, knocking seven batsmen over with high-quality left-arm spin and giving Bihar a vital 57-run lead. Not to be left behind, Sameer Khajuriya and the J&K bowlers shot out Bihar for 159 in their second innings. With the pitch showing signs of helping the spinners, a target of 189 may prove tougher than it might look.