Ranji Highlights: Sai Kishore hattrick seals innings victory for TN; Bengal, UP record wins
Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a hundred, while Saurashtra eked out a slender lead against Karnataka
Best Batting Performances
Walking at 54 for 5 with Tripura staring at a massive innings defeat, captain Manisankar Murasingh blitzed a sensational 160-ball 161 to force a fourth innings, although Assam cantered home by nine wickets.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s first hit out with the bat in this Ranji Trophy season was a fruitful one, stroking his way to an unbeaten 101 at No.7. Ankit Bawne remained not out on 169 to give Maharashtra a 358-run lead, while Shikhar Mohan ended the day batting on 74 for Jharkhand.
K Himateja enhanced a burgeoning reputation with a magnificent unbeaten 123, allowing Hyderabad to set Andhra a target of 398. Tanay Thyagarajan chipped in with a valuable unbeaten half-century of his own.
Manan Hingrajia’s ton rescued Gujarat in the company of Jaymeet Patel’s 72, keeping the Delhi bowlers at bay.
In a thrilling battle for the first-innings lead, Samar Gajjar’s 79 and Arpit Vasavada’s defiant 65 tilted the scales Saurashtra’s way against Karnataka. A noteworthy mention for Parth Bhut and Jaydev Unadkat, whose 40-run stand for the ninth wicket secured a slender lead for Saurashtra.
Akash Anand converted his fifty into a hundred, while Sarfaraz Khan’s brilliance ended on 154 as Mumbai multiplied their lead over Himachal Pradesh to 388.
Chhattisgarh’s Amandeep Khare waged a valiant battle with his 91, but it could not prevent a follow-on against Punjab. He ended the day unbeaten on 37 in the second innings.
Gurinder Singh became Sikkim’s third centurion against Arunachal Pradesh. His 146 set up a declaration at 572/5 before Sikkim romped to a massive innings win.
Mangal Mahrour’s 138 led a strong initial response from Bihar in the second dig. But his efforts were in vain as the visitors crashed from 203 for 2 to 251, before Baroda knocked off a 2-run target.
A pair of seventies for Aryan Juyal and Suyash Prabhudessai, but it was bittersweet for the latter as Goa fell well short in pursuit of 235 against Uttar Pradesh.
Bhargav Merai top-scored with 73, while Eshaan Goyal and Ravi Singh contributed fifties in Railways’ gritty batting effort against Rajasthan.
Sedezhalie Rupero put up a strong vigil, staying unbeaten on 108 off 297 deliveries against Mizoram. Nagaland need 258 runs to enter the lead, with Yugandhar Singh’s 98 equally critical in setting up the foundation.
Best Bowling Performances
Captain Sai Kishore bagged a hat-trick to spin Tamil Nadu to an innings win over Uttarakhand at Chepauk. His six-fer meant he finished with a match haul of 10/74, while fellow left-arm spinner Ajith Ram took the remaining four wickets in the second dig.
Harpreet Brar registered a career-best 7 for 56 as Punjab enforced the follow-on against Chhattisgarh.
Yash Kasvankar’s second five-fer of the match bowled Uttar Pradesh out for 197. But Goa succumbed to Kartik Yadav’s own five-wicket haul, going down by 68 runs in the end.
In a contest dominated by spin, Bengal had the final say over Services as Pradipta Pramanik (4 for 48) and Shahbaz Ahmed (3 for 44) scripted an impressive 60-run win.
Bhargav Bhatt’s 6 for 53 triggered an alarming Bihar collapse, setting up Baroda’s facile 10-wicket victory.
Off-spinner Vaisakh Chandran scalped four as Odisha were bowled out for 225. Kerala duly enforced the follow-on and picked up four more wickets.
Sagar Trivedi celebrated his birthday with a four-fer for Puducherry as Madhya Pradesh lost five wickets for 19 runs on Day 3.
Mohit Thakur picked up a five-wicket haul to go with his three-fer in the first innings, setting up Assam’s nine-wicket win over Tripura.
Sunil Kumar bagged four wickets as Jammu and Kashmir threatened to defend 78 against Vidarbha. But the visitors held on with one of their bowling heroes, Nachiket Bhute (5 for 48 in the second innings) seeing them through with the bat.
Satyajeet Bachhav’s 5 for 27 routed Arunachal Pradesh for 123, sealing an innings and 328-run victory for Sikkim.
Vidwath Kaverappa turned in an impressive four-wicket haul for Karnataka, even as Saurashtra hung on to eke out a lead.
Abhishek Kumar’s four-fer secured a 103-run lead for Meghalaya. But Manipur roared back through Jotin Pheiroijam’s own four-wicket haul to bowl the hosts out for 172.
