Ranji Trophy 2015, Group B: Shreyas Iyer’s maiden double ton gives Mumbai big lead against Punjab

Shreyas Iyer reached the coveted figures off just 175 balls with the help of 25 fours and five sixes. (Source: Express photo by Kevin D’Souza)

Up and coming Shreyas Iyer scored a magnificent, maiden double hundred while his captain Aditya Tare slammed an unbeaten ton as the duo put the Punjab bowling attack to the sword to help Mumbai take a huge first innings lead of 341 runs on day two of their Ranji Trophy cricket match in Mumbai on Friday.

At stumps, Mumbai were 495 for 6 in 112 overs, replying to Punjab’s measly 154, with Tare (111) and Dhawal Kulkarni (30) at the crease, with two days left in the Group B game.

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Iyer made runs at a breakneck speed to continue from his Thursday’s score of 61 to slam the fourth fastest double century by an Indian batsman in first class cricket.

The list includes Ravi Shastri’s 123 for Mumbai against Baroda in 1985 and Virender Sehwag’s 168-ball double ton for India against Sri Lanka in 2009.

Iyer reached the coveted figures off just 175 balls with the help of 25 fours and five sixes.

The 20-year-old player, who carted the clueless Punjab attack to all parts of the field and showed superb timing in his strokes, fell for 200 off the next ball he faced after reaching the landmark with a single.

Iyer, who batted for 292 minutes in scoring his third first class ton, was dismissed in trying to clear the rope for the sixth time in his innings by his Delhi Daredevils teammate and Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh.

Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav (78 in 162 balls) had put on 233 runs for the third wicket after joining forces on Thursday and the blistering pace at which the former, who completed his first hundred in 90 balls, scored enabled Mumbai to reach 300 in just 61 overs.

Later, he and his captain Tare, who has faced 140 balls and struck 15 fours, combined to add 64 runs for the fourth wicket to completely demoralise the Punjab attack in which left-arm pacer Barinder Singh Sran was the lone bright spot with a three-wicket haul.

Though Mumbai lost the wickets of Sidhesh Lad and Abhishek Nayar cheaply, Tare – who reached his sixth first class ton in 128 balls – and Kulkarni kept the Punjab fielders chasing leather with a stand of 71 runs for the seventh wicket.

Brief Scores: Punjab: 154 Mumbai 495 for 6 (S Iyer 200, S Yadav 78, A Tare 111 not out, D Kulkarni 30 not out; Barinder Singh Sran 3/87)

Baroda consolidate position against Railways

Deepak Hooda led the way with a century as Baroda reached 448 for six to extend their lead to a healthy 282 runs in their Ranji Trophy Group B encounter against Railways.

At stumps on the second day at Moti Bagh Stadium, the home side’s Hardik Pandya and Ketan Panchal were batting on 41 and 17 respectively.

Kousik, Rangarajan tons take TN to mammoth score

Jagatheesan Kousik and Malolan Rangarajan hit maiden centuries as Tamil Nadu reached to a mammoth 517 for 7 on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match against Madhya Pradesh.

Resuming the day on 225 for 5, Tamil Nadu added 292 runs from 91 overs and lost just two wickets as the visiting side bowlers were sent for a leather hunt at the the Emerald High School Ground here.

Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 1st Innings: 517/7 in 180 overs (Jagatheesan Kousik 151, Malolan Rangarajan batting 124; Udit Birla 3/46).

Bharath’s ton puts Andhra in driver’s seat

Opener Srikar Bharath struck a fine unbeaten century to guide Andhra to a comfortable position against Gujarat on the second day of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match, here today.

Bharath remained unbeaten on 119 off 176 balls as Andhra were comfortably placed at 196 for one in 53 overs in reply to Gujarat’s first innings total of 308.

Brief Scores: Gujarat 1st innings: 308 all out in 100.3 overs (Parthiv Patel 122; Duvvarapu Siva Kumar 3/44, Paidikalva Vijaykumar 3/61, Cheepurapalli Stephen 3/99).  Andhra 1st innings: 196 for one in 53 overs (S rikar
Bharath 119 not out; Rush Kalaria 1/37)