Ranji Trophy 2023-24, Round 3 Highlights: Delhi continue to struggle; Narayan Jagadeesan's 245*, Shashwat Rawat's 207 mark second round. Top five games from Round 3 of Ranji Trophy 2023-24.
After two successful and exciting rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 with some incredible results, the third round of the tournament saw more stupendous performances.
Vidarbha, Mumbai, Gujarat, Baroda and Hyderabad held their top position in the points table from various groups. Even though Tamil Nadu got their first victory of the season, Delhi continue to struggle, as they are yet to register a win in the tournament.
Let’s scan the top five encounters with special performances.
Tamil Nadu vs Railways: Jagadeesan carried his bat for 245* to put TN on the winning track
Quite surprisingly, Tamil Nadu didn’t have a great start in the season as they lost their opening game against Gujarat by 111 runs, before drawing a rain-affected game against Tripura. It made their game against the Railways a huge affair.
Winning the toss at SNR College Cricket Ground, they elected to bat first. TN didn’t have a good start at all, losing Vimal Khumar on the fifth ball of the game. But Narayan Jagadeesan held one end from the beginning for his double century, as he also got support from Boopathi Kumar and captain Sai Kishore for their respective fifties. Jagadeesan stayed unbeaten on 245, as Tamil Nadu scored 489 in their first innings.
Pratham Singh tried his best with a 92-run knock to avoid the follow-on, but a couple of three-wicket hauls from Kishor and Sandeep Warrier restricted the visitors to 246. The home side opted for the follow-on and performed better with the ball in the second innings. Two four-wicket hauls from Kishore and S Ajith Ram bundled out Railways for only 114, giving TN an innings and 129-run victory.
Brief Scores: TN 489 (Jagadeesan 245*, Pandey 3/102) beat RLYS 246 (Pratham 92, Warrier 3/61) & 114 (f/o) (Pratham 29, Ajith 4/40) by innings and 129 runs.
Madhya Pradesh vs Delhi: Bowlers and Shubham Sharma made Delhi struggle again
Delhi are going through one of their tough times for red-ball cricket. Winning the toss at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh opted to bat first. Shubham Sharma stood out as the lone fighter with his 59-run knock as the home side posted 171. Himanshu Chauhan returned with figures of 5/51.
A few players from Delhi got the start but failed to convert them into big ones, as their 205 gave them a 34-run lead in the first innings. The 109-run third wicket stand between Shubham (73) and Sumit Khuswah propelled the hosts to 251 in the second innings.
Vaibhav Kandpal (49*) showed a little fight but that wasn’t enough as they were blown away for 131. Kulwant Khejroliya made returns of 3/30 as MP won the game by 86 runs.
Brief Scores: MP 171 (Shubham 59, Himanshu 5/51) & 251 (Shubham 73, Shokeen 4/61) beat DEL 205 (Dhull 47, Kartikeya 3/43) & 131 (Kandpal 49*, Khejroliya 3/30) by 86 runs.
Himachal Pradesh vs Baroda: Shashwat-Shivalik hands hosts HP a huge innings and 18-run defeat
The table toppers Baroda were unbeaten in the first two rounds of the tournament. Himachal Pradesh on winning the toss at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, opted to bowl first. Baroda being 72/3, the decision seemed to be on point. But, the 345-run fifth wicket stand between Shashwat Rawat (207) and Shivalik Sharma (188) fired them to 482 in the first innings.
The hosts didn’t have much response before the excellent bowling lineup of Baroda, as the four-wicket haul of Abhimanyu Singh restricted the hosts to 184 in their first innings. Baroda enforced the follow-on and put the home side in huge trouble again at 77/6.
However, a couple of fifties from Nikhil Gangta and Gurvinder Singh pushed HP to 280, as Baroda strengthened themselves with an innings and 18-run win.
Brief Scores: BRD 482 (Shashwat 207, Shivalik 188, Vaibhav 5/68) beat HP 184 (Amit 39, Abhimanyu 4/48) & 280 (f/o) (Gurvinder 59, Bhargav 4/32) by innings and 18 runs.
Vidarbha vs Saurashtra: Chirag Jani handed their side a heavy victory with a 9-wicket haul
Both teams had vital points at stake for his affair. The hosts Vidarbha won the toss at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur, and elected to bowl first. Hardik Desai played a good 68-run knock to take them to 206. But Chirag Jani’s 4/14, bowling in the top-class line and length destroyed the hosts for just 78.
With a huge lead of 128 runs, Saurashtra batted again to post 244 in the second innings, shouldering on the fifties from Cheteshwar Pujara and Kevin Jivrajani. Vidarbha didn’t click with the bat before Chirag’s 5/51, as the lone fifty from Atharva Taide took them to 134, and Saurashtra won the game by 238 runs.
Brief Scores: SAUR 206 (Desai 68, Umesh 4/56) & 244 (Vishvaraj 79, Umesh 3/42) beat VID 78 (Jitesh 28, Chirag 4/14) & 134 (Taide 54, Chirag 5/51) by 238 runs.
Kerala vs Mumbai: Avasthi 7/57 & Mulani 5/44 handed Mumbai a heavy win of 232 runs
0/2 in the second ball of the game wasn’t an ideal scenario for Mumbai, who opted to bat at the St. Xavier’s College Ground, Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram. But fifties from Bhupen Lalwani, and Shivam Dube took them to a respectable 251 in the first innings. Mohit Avasthi’s 7/57 offered Mumbai a small seven-run lead.
Mumbai made a better performance in the second innings as the 148-run opening stand gave them the platform for a huge total of 319. Kerala didn’t have an answer to Shams Mulani (5/44) as visitors Mumbai wrote a heavy 232-run win.
Brief Scores: MUM 251 (Kotian 56, Gopal 4/28) & 319 (Lalwani 88, Saxena 4/80) beat KER 244 (Baby 65, Avasthi 7/57) & 94 (Kunnummal 26, Mulani 5/44) by 232 runs.
In some of the other notable mentions, Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal and Mayank Agarwal continued their purple patch with respective centuries. The fourth and next round of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 will begin on 26th January 2024.
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