Ranji Highlights: Shaw, Dhas star in Maharashtra rout; Hyderabad pull off last-wicket heist
From Hyderabad's last-wicket heroics to Pukhraj Mann's unbeaten 153, the latest Ranji round featured big individual efforts and dramatic finishes
Best batting performances
Maharashtra romped to a ten-wicket win over Bengal, with openers Prithvi Shaw and Sachin Dhas polishing off the 114-run target in 19.4 overs. Shaw hit four sixes in his 50-ball 53, while Dhas hit a more sedate 61 off 68. Bengal’s Abhishek Porel and Sumanta Gupta briefly provided resistance but didn’t find enough support from the rest.
Hyderabad’s last-wicket pair pulled off a sensational win over Chattisgarh, putting together a 39-run stand lasting 17.2 overs. Starting at 13/2 on Day 4, Abhirath Reddy hit 68, and Varun Goud 55, but it required a late rescue to eke out a win. No.10 Gangam Anikethreddy hit 39, finishing off the game with a six.
Chasing 447, Himachal Pradesh’s fight was led by captain Pukhraj Mann, who hit a career-best 153*. After being reduced to 87 for 6. No.8 Mukul Negi hit 82 and No.10 Arpit Guleria stuck around for 88 balls, ensuring points for Rajasthan by first-innings lead.
A brisk century by Divyaansh Saxena helped Mumbai declare on 234/4, setting Railways a target of 372. Opener Eshaan Goyal then struck a century, as did No.7 Zubair Ali Khan, but Railways lost five for 15 to dramatically concede the game in the final session.
Yash Dhull hit an unbeaten century in Delhi’s drawn game against Services, giving them points based on first-innings lead. Earlier, Services skipper Rajat Paliwal scored his second ton of the game, after which they declared on 397/9, hoping for an outright win.
Kerala veteran Sachin Baby batted 182 balls for his fifty, but couldn’t prevent an innings loss against Gujarat.
Shaikh Rasheed struck 176, setting the platform for Andhra’s 500-plus response against Punjab, even though it couldn’t translate to a first-innings lead. Kirdant Shinde supported him with a 236-ball 96, while Sreeram Rahul hit an unbeaten 76.
Fifties from Puducherry’s Ankit Sharma and Aman Khan ensured a draw, with Jammu & Kashmir pocketing points based on first-innings lead.
Amit Rajera (102) and Parth Palawat (92) gave Sikkim enough runs to declare against Manipur, after which Satyajeev Bacchav ran through them to set up a 201-run win.
Swastik Samal hit 80, as Odisha finished on 280/7 in response to Jharkhand’s 433/8, ending the game in a draw.
Best bowling performances
Ajith Ram’s career-best 7 for 48 hastened Chandigarh’s collapse while following on, handing Tamil Nadu a victory with an innings and 259 runs.
Pradeep Dhade and Hitesh Walnuj claimed four each, as Bengal were bowled out for their second sub-200 score, setting up Maharashtra’s ten-wicket win.
Tripura’s Sandip and Abhijit Sarkar shared seven wickets between them, consigning Saurashtra to a 133-run loss, despite Arpit Vasavada’s fighting fifty. He was the last wicket to fall, run out on 89.
Shams Mulani took four, and Musheer Khan three, in Mumbai’s 103-run win over Railways.
Left-arm seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla, playing his 50th first-class game, took four in each innings, as Kerala were shot out for 197 following on, giving Gujarat a win by an innings and 58 runs.
Baroda’s Mahesh Pithiya finished with 6 for 116, but it couldn’t prevent Uttar Pradesh’s win based on first-innings lead. A career-best 3 for 42 by Prashant Veer reduced Baroda to 169/6 in the second innings.
Forty-year-old off-spinner Bobby Zothansanga starred with five wickets in Mizoram’s innings win over Arunachal Pradesh. Khiangte Vanrotlinga did the early damage with 3 for 19 in a nine-over spell.
Rajasthan quicks Aniket Choudhary and Danish Bhambhu took three each, reducing Himachal Pradesh to 87 for 6, but it went in vain as a rearguard batting effort ensured a draw and a win by first-innings lead.
Left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav completed a career-best 13-wicket match haul, followed his six-wicket spell with a 7 for 33 against Manipur. It gave Sikkim a comfortable 201-run win.
Seamer Anil Gupta and off-spinner Saurav Kumar took three each, as Meghalaya were shot out for 172, ensuring a 122-run win for Nagaland.
