Ranji Trophy Group B: Gurkeerat Mann’s double ton puts Punjab in strong position
Gurkeerat Mann scored his 201 off just 205 balls. (Source: PTI File)
High on confidence after his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI team, young Gurkeerat Singh Mann smashed his way to an unbeaten double hundred on a single day as Punjab piled up a mammoth 604 for five against Railways before declaring their first innings.
Such was Gurekeerat’s dominance during his 205-ball-201 that Punjab scored 339 runs on the single day. Gurkeerat hit 25 fours and five sixes in his innings and added 306 runs with wicketkeeper-batsman Gitansh Khera (102) with nine fours and a six.
Before Gurkeerat scored the first double of the Ranji season, it was Uday Kaul (112) and Mandeep Singh (109), who had scored tons on a placid batting wicket.
The only unfortunate player to miss out was skipper Yuvraj Singh (23), who offered a simple return catch to Karn Sharma (1/115). Pacers Krishnakant Upadhhyay (0/121) and Ranjit Mali (1/149) were all hammered to submission by Gurkeerat, who surpassed his previous best score of 157.
At stumps, Railways were 14 for no loss.
Brief Scores: Punjab 1st Innings 604/4 declared (Gurkeerat Singh Mann 201 no, Uday kaul 112, Mandeep Singh 109, Gitansh Khera 102 no) vs Railways 14 for no loss.
Youngsters Saif, Sarfaraz hit big tons as UP dominate
Playing in his second first-class game, young Mohammad Saif missed out on a double century by two runs, while another youngster Sarfaraz Khan smashed 155 off 164 balls as Uttar Pradesh posted a mammoth 656/5 in their Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh.
At stumps on day 2, the hosts rode on 19-year-old Saif’s 198 off 287 balls, and Sarfaraz’s blazing knock to pile up a huge total after batting 180 overs at the Teerthanker Mahaveer University Ground.
Spinner Jalaj S Saxena picked up three wickets at the cost of conceding 190 runs, the figures giving ample indication of how difficult was it for the bowlers.
Bhatt six-wicket haul takes Baroda on verge of victory
Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt scalped six wickets on a turning wicket as Baroda placed themselves on course for a comfortable victory against hosts Tamil Nadu in their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match.
Bhatt’s brilliant figures of 6/58 helped Baroda shot Tamil Nadu out for 155 in 59.4 overs in their second innings, leaving the visiting side 122 runs to score in their second innings to win the match at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu: 125 and 155 all out in 59.4 overs (Baba Aparajith 39; Bhargav Bhatt 6/58). Baroda: 159 all out in 49.2 overs (Yusuf Pathan 41; Rahil Shah 4/38, D T Chandrasekar 4/50).
Andra reach 213-4 on rain-affected day
Middle-order batsman Ricky Bhui completed his century as Andra Pradesh reached 213 for four in their first innings against Mumbai on a rain-curtailed second day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
On a day when only 26 overs could be played, Andra added another 43 runs losing two wickets to their overnight score of 170-2 at Dr PVG Raju ACA Sports Complex.
Brief Scores: Andra 1st innings: 213 for 4 in 106 overs (R Bhui 103, M Kaif 89; BS Sandhu 3/45).
