Tamil Nadu comfortably won their Ranji Trophy elite match against Gujarat by nine wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, but they missed out on garnering a vital bonus point in the process
Staff Reporter31-Dec-2002Tamil Nadu comfortably won their Ranji Trophy elite match against Gujarat by nine wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, but they missed out on garnering a vital bonus point in the process.Yet another five-wicket haul from Lakshmipathy Balaji, who picked five for 81, ensured that Gujarat’s second innings did not get beyond 228. Skipper MH Parmar and BN Mehta hit 75 and 68 respectively, but no other batsmen could hang around at the crease.Balaji’s bowling meant that Tamil Nadu had to chase only 130 for a win, which they did in 25.4 overs for the loss of Sadagopan Ramesh. Skipper S Suresh made an unbeatn 65 at the top of the order, steering his side home midway through the third day of the match.Himachal Pradesh grind their way to low totalHimachal Pradesh occupied all of the third day’s play of their Ranji Trophy tie against Hyderabad by being bowled out for 168, giving Hyderabad a lead of 94 runs.Sandeep Sharma and Rajiv Nayyar occupied the crease for significant lengths of time, but it was really Nayyar who, in his inimitable way, ground his way to 54 off 205 balls. For Hyderabad, Shivaji Yadav toiled manfully and was rewarded for his work with a haul of six for 51 in 32.2 overs.Uttar Pradesh-Orissa tie affected by weatherBad weather meant that only 36 minutes of play were possible, in which 7.3 overs were bowled and one wicket lost. Uttar Pradesh wound their way to 180 for six in the time available, and with only one and a half innings completed, the game looks almost certain to meander to a draw on the fourth day.Baroda win by seven wicketsAssam recovered from 88 for seven to reach 147 in their second innings, but it was hardly enough to put pressure on Baroda, and the hosts duly cantered to a win at Vadodara on the third day.Chasing 99 for a win, a string of 20-odd scores from the top-order was enough to negate the fall of three wickets, and Baroda picked up two points from the encounter by reaching their target in 23.4 overs with almost a day and a half to spare.Bengal in dire straits at MumbaiBengal were bowled out for only 190 in their first innings after losing the toss, and they were floundering in their second innings too when play ended on the third day.Mumbai’s reply to Bengal’s 190 was a sizeable 322, with NS Shetty – who has been in good form of late – striking 123 in the middle order. For Bengal, Utpal Chatterjee took four wickets. In their second innings, Bengal reached 138 for seven, with Lakshmi Rattan Shukla unbeaten on 20. Sairaj Bahutule took three wickets for 60 with his leg-spin, and Bengal were leading by only six runs at stumps.Railways batsmen dazzle at VijayawadaReplying to Andhra Pradesh’s first-innings total of 371, Railways came up with a strong 367 for four, and although no batsman struck a century, a string of consistent performances ensured Railways’ fine display with the bat.Opener Amit Pagnis top-scored with 92 off 213 balls with eight fours, but when he was dismissed at 213, Railways, four wickets down, looked in some trouble. But Raja Ali and Abhay Sharma stabilised the innings with knocks of 74 (131b, 8×4) and 89 (118b, 12×4, 1×6). Both were at the crease when play ended, and they will be thanked in large part by their team-mates for gaining the first-innings lead that looks inevitable.Delhi gain bonus point against RajasthanMedium-pacer Sanjay Gill took six for 33 in 18 overs to help bowl Rajasthan out for just 224 in their second innings, which gained tourists Delhi a win by an innings and 11 runs, as well as a bonus point.Rajasthan looked well-placed as they started the third day at 46 for no loss, and even at 131 for one, with VA Saxena and AS Jain hitting fifties, the hosts looked to have gotten back into the game. But Gill dismissed both Saxena and Jain for 52 and 50 respectively, and Rajasthan lost their next seven wickets for less than 100 runs.Jammu & Kashmir lose by massive marginMadhya Pradesh won their Ranji Trophy plate group tie against Jammu & Kashmir at Indore by an innings and 121 runs, gaining a bonus point in the process.It was largely their first innings collapse that let the tourists down. They fared much better in the second essay, reaching 319 before being bowled out. Only S Khajuria reached 50, but four other batsmen had scores in the 40s, which was really the type of performance they needed in the first innnings.Narendra Hirwani bettered his five-wicket haul of the first innings by taking six in the second, ending with 11 wickets for 140 runs in the match.Karnataka demolish Haryana at FaridabadHaryana were bowled out for 147 in their first innings, and they did not fare much better in their second, making only 178 before being bowled out and giving Karnataka a win by an innings and 47 runs as well as a bonus point.Dodda Ganesh, hero of the first innings with seven wickets, picked five more on the third day, and along with Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi, helped bowl Haryana out cheaply. Top-scoring for Haryana was opener Jitender Singh, who made 51 off 122 balls.Runs galore at NagpurKerala’s first innings surpassed that of Vidarbha by 99 runs, but that deficit was made up by Vidarbha’s batsmen by the end of the third day’s play in their Ranji Trophy plate group match.A fifty from SR Nair and 45 from Vipin Lal were in large part responsible for Kerala’s first-innings lead. Vidarbha replied with 123 for two by stumps, with opener VC Naidu making 62 of those runs before falling.Services do better in second essayServices’ batsmen, in their second innings, managed to keep Faisal Shaikh out long enough to reach 303 for seven by the end of the third day’s play at Delhi.Shaikh, after his nine-wicket haul in the first innings, could take only three with his off-breaks as Services’ batsmen played more determinedly. Leading the charge was PMS Reddy, who ground out 96 off 229 balls. The middle order disappointed slightly, but they all spent time at the crease in making their double-digit scores, so Services managed a lead of 144 runs by stumps.
