880 - Jharkhand’s first innings total against Nagaland in Ranji Trophy

Jharkhand piled on 880 runs in the pre-quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy against Nagaland on Monday, their highest ever total since they started playing the domestic competition.

Playing at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Jharkhand forced Nagaland to toil for three days, playing 204 overs in total. The mammoth total was achieved courtesy the middle and the lower order that saw two fifties, two centuries and one double hundred.

There were four humongous partnerships in total, starting with youngsters Virat Singh and Kumar Kushagra who put on a rapid 175 runs off 213 balls. Virat got out after scoring 107 runs, but Kushagra continued to pile on a stunning 266 runs off 269 balls and added 128 and 166 runs alongside Anukul Roy and Shabaz Nadeem respectively.

The 17-year-old sensation wore Nagaland down with his rapid innings, and the veteran Nadeem and the lower order reaped rewards of that.

The 32-year-old veteran continued through and added 191 runs for the final wicket with number 11 Rahul Shukla beside him, who scored 85 runs. Nadeem was the final wicket of the day, getting caught plumb in front of the stumps after scoring a career highest 177 runs.

While many marvelled at Jharkhand's achievements on the field, and they should, considering that they breached the 850 mark for the first time since Hyderabad in 1993-94 season, many questioned the purposefulness of the show against a small team like Nagaland.

The first innings total has practically thrown Jharkhand out of the game and they will now be eliminated from the competition.

This is fourth highest total to be ever scored in Ranji Trophy, with the first three being 944, 912 and 912 by Hyderabad, Holkar and Tamil Nadu respectively.

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