Bowlers put TN in command on a rain-hit day
Cheteshwar Pujara endured a six-ball duck as Saurashtra were left reeling at 35/5, trailing by 129 runs in the second innings with Tamil Nadu taking complete command of their Ranji Trophy Group D clash in Coimbatore.
On the third day of the season-opener, Tamil Nadu’s left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh ran riot in the Saurashtra ranks, returning 9-5-7-4 as the visitors were left staring at a huge task at the close of play.
Saurashtra conceded a massive first-innings lead of 164 as TN folded for 367 after resuming at 278/3 against the visitor’s 203. Javdev Unadkat returned 6/61 from his 24 overs. Gurjapneet’s victims included Pujara, who made 16 in the first essay, as the out-of-favour India batter was trapped in front of the wickets in the second innings.
Arpit Vasavada (15 not out) and Sheldon Jackson (5 not out) were at the crease. In another match, Delhi took a slender lead of 14 runs in the first innings but Chhattisgarh edged ahead, reaching 33 for no loss to move ahead by 19 runs at stumps on the third day.
While skipper Himmat Singh made 65 (123 balls 8x4s, 1x6s), it was Jonty Sidhu’s 170-ball 103 not out (11 fours, 2 sixes) which gave Delhi a slight advantage.
In Indore, after two got called off completely, Madhya Pradesh consolidated to finish day three at 425/8 against Karnataka. Skipper Shubham Sharma remained unbeaten on 143 while Harpreet Singh scored 91.
Meanwhile, after dismissing Kerala for 179, Punjab lost three early wickets despite gaining a slender lead. Mayank Markande took six wickets to hand Punjab the first innings lead, but Kerala kept at it, taking three early wickets. At stumps, Punjab were 23/3.
Andhra, chasing 318, finished day three on 79/1 against Vidarbha with Hanuma Vihari back in the pavilion. Having gotten out for 167 in the first innings, Andhra conceded 366 in the third with opener Atharva Taide scoring a century for Vidarbha (118). A Mokhade (53), Danish Malewar (61) scored fifties to set the tone for Vidarbha. Andhra need 239 runs to win on the final day.
Select scores
Gujarat 343 & 201 vs Hyderabad 248; Vidarbha 118 & 366 vs Andhra 167 & 79/1 in 21 ovs; Madhya Pradesh 425/8; 140 ovs (Shubham 143 batting, Harpreet 91, Saransh 51; Koushik 2/78, Vyshak 2/83, Hardik 2/79); Punjab 194 vs Kerala 179 in 70.4 ovs (Mayank Markande 6/59, Gurnoor Brar 3/18); Saurashtra 203 & 35/5 in 25 ovs (Arpit Vasavada 15 n.o, Gurjapneet 4/7) vs Tamil Nadu 367 in 121.3 ovs (B Sai Sudharsan 82, N Jagadeesan 100; Unadkat 6/61); Chhattisgarh 343 & 33/0 in 8 ovs (Ayush Pandey 22 n.o) vs Delhi 357 in 116.2 ovs (Jonty Sidhu 103 n.o; Ajay Mandal 3/101, Ashish Chouhan 3/53).