The 2nd day second round of the ongoing season of the Ranji Trophy once again proved to be a fascinating affair, with batsmen racking up hundreds and talented bowlers like Prasidh Krishna running through batting line-ups.
Here's a look at some of the talking points on the first day of Round 02 of the Ranji Trophy 2021/22:-
Chirag Jani's 275 puts Saurashtra in complete control against Odisha
Chirag Jani picked up from where he had left on the opening day as he smashed a brilliant 275.
The right-handed batsman was brilliantly supported by Arpit Vasavada (61) Sheldon Jackson, who hammered a rapid 112-ball 75. As a result of these knocks, Saurashtra finished at 501 in 144.3 overs.
In response, Odisha lost three top-order wickets at just 52, with Jayden Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya and D Jadeja sharing one each.
Brief Scores: Saurashtra 501 in 144.3 overs (Chirag Jani 125*, Sheldon Jackson 75, Arpit Vasavda 51*; Jayant Behera 4/148, Basant Mohanty 2/82) lead Odisha 52-3 in 26 overs (Debashish Samantray 20; D Jadeja 1/10) by 449 runs.
Goa apply stranglehold over Mumbai with a huge 1st innings lead
Starting the day at 114/2, Goa found themselves in a spot of bother in the morning session as they got reduced to 153/5 thanks to regular strikes by Shams Mulani.
However, Eknath Kerkar’s 148-ball 71 and a half-century from Lakshay Garg (59 off 86 deliveries) ensured that Goa eventually ended up with a 164-run first-innings lead. Mulani, with figures of 6/107 in 36.4 overs, was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai.
In response, Mumbai got off to a blazing start thanks to opener Prithvi Shaw, who hammered a rapid 47-ball 44. However, Darshan Misal pegged the domestic heavyweights back with the prized scalp of Shaw as Mumbai went into Stumps at 57/1 in 16.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 163 all-out in 52.4 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 63, Lakshay Garg 6/46, Amit Yadav 4/47) & 57-1 in 16 overs (Prithvi Shaw 44, Darshan Misal 1/13) trail Goa 327 all-out in 104.4 overs (Eknath Kerkar 71, AS Desai 64, Lakshay Garg 59; Shams Mulani 6/104) by 107 runs
Karun Nair’s 175 & Prasidh Krishna’s 6/35 puts Karnataka on the brink of a commanding win over JK
Karun Nair missed out on a well-deserved double-hundred thanks to Parvez Rasool, who trapped him LBW for 175. But, his knock ensured that Karnataka breached the 300-run mark.
As it turned out, it proved to be more than enough as pacer Prasidh Krishna produced a stunning spell that broke the back of the JK batting unit. The lanky pacer registered figures of 6/35 in just 12 overs to pave the way for JK to get dismissed for a mere 93 in 29.5 overs.
R Samarth (62 off 106 deliveries) and Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a 100-ball 49, helped Karnataka swell their lead past the 300-run mark. Both were eventually dismissed but not before the former champions had piled on an overall lead of 337.
Brief Scores: Karnataka 302 all-out in 103.1 overs (Karun Nair 175, Samarth 45; Parvez Rasool 2/51, Umran Malik 2/35) & 128/2 in 42 overs (R Samarth 62, Devdutt Padikkal 49, Abid Mushtaq 2/24) lead JK 93 all-out in 29.5 overs (Qamran Iqbal 35; Prasidh Krishna 6/35, V Patil 2/10) by 337 runs
Mukesh Kumar’s 4/49 helps Bengal take a slender 1st innings lead over Hyderabad
Right-arm seamer Mukesh Kumar picked off from where he had left on the first day as he dismissed both Himalay Agarwal and Prateek Reddy in quick succession to leave Hyderabad reeling at 40/4.
40/4 soon became 70/7 and it was looking as if Bengal were well on their way to taking a huge first-innings lead.
However, a 109-run-stand between Ravi Teja (81* off 196 deliveries) and T Thyagrajan (52 off 103 deliveries) ensured that it wasn't the case as Hyderabad eventually finished with 205; 37 runs adrift of Bengal's 1st inning score.
In response, Bengal lost opener Sudip Gharami in the first over before skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran and Ritwik Chowdhary took them safely to Stumps.
Brief Scores: Bengal 242 all-out (Abhishek Porel 73, Shahbaz Ahmed 40; T Thyagarajan 5/71) & 16/1 in 8 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 10*; Rakshann Readdi 1/5) lead Hyderabad 205 all-out in 80 overs (Ravi Teja 81* T Thyagrajan 52; Mukesh Kumar 4/49) by 53 runs
Tamil Nadu's bowlers apply the squeeze on Chattisgarh from Baba Aparajith and Baba Indrajith
Hundreds from Baba Aparajith (166 off 267 deliveries), Baba Indrajith (127 off 141 deliveries) and a 105-ball 69 from Shahrukh Khan ensured Tamil Nadu declared their first innings at 470/9 on day 02.
The total was always going to prove a daunting one for Chhattisgarh and it was proved to the hilt as they lost half of their side for just over 100.
Manimaran Siddharth (2/35) and Sai Kishore (2/20) were the picks of the bowlers for Tamil Nadu. For Chhattisgarh, skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia is still holding the fort with an unbeaten 47 off 114 deliveries.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 470/9 dec. in 118 overs (Baba Aparajith 166, Baba Indrajith 127 Shahrukh Khan 69; Sumit Ruikar 4/168, Ajay Mandal 3/132) lead Chhattisgarh 105/5 in 47.4 overs (Harpreet Singh Bhatia 47*; Manimaran Siddharth 2/35, R Sai Kishore 2/20) by 365 runs
Daddy 100s from Ganesh Satish and Akshay Wadkar put Vidarbha in complete control against Maharashtra
A magnificent 275 off 482 deliveries from Ganesh Satish - an innings studded with 33 four and 5 sixes- and an unbeaten 145 (off 283 deliveries)- from Akshay Wadkar, has put defending champions Vidarbha in a driver's seat against Maharashtra at Stumps on day 02.
The duo went on to add 292 runs for the 4th wicket to ensure Vidarbha ended up with a whopping 569/5 in 166 overs. Mukesh Choudhary (3/101) was the pick of the bowlers for Maharashtra.
In response, Maharashtra had moved on to 46/1 in 11.2 overs at Stumps.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 569-5 Dec. in 166 overs (Ganesh Satish 275, Akshay Wadkad 145*, Atharva Taide 68; Mukesh Choudhary 3/101) lead Maharashtra 46/1 in 11.2 overs (Pavan Shah 24*; Aditya Sarwate 1/14) by 523 runs
Himanshu Rana's unbeaten 100 spearheads Haryana's response after Mandeep Singh & Anmol Malhotra's 100s guide Punjab to 444
Haryana skipper Himanshu scored an unbeaten 177-ball 113 on the second day to lead his sides' response after Punjab hammered 444 courtesy of hundreds from Mandeep Singh (159* off 289 deliveries and Anmol Malhotra (100 off 128 deliveries).
Chasing 445, Haryana got off to the worse possible start as they lost their top-3 wickets at the score of 65. However, an unbeaten 139-run stand between Rana and Yashu Sharma (69* off 86 deliveries) ensured that Haryana finished at 204/3.
Brief Scores: Punjab 444 all-out in 111 overs (Mandeep Singh 159*, Anmol Malhotra 100, Gurkeerat Singh Mann 48; Aman Kumar 4/88, Ajit Chahal 3/74) lead Haryana 204/3 in 57 overs (Himanshu Rana 113*, Yashu Sharma 69*; Siddarth Kaul 2/49) by 240 runs
Half-centuries from Samarth Singh, Dhruv Jurel and Priyam Garg's 46 hands UP a slender lead of 9 over Assam
Opener Samarth Singh's 123-ball 70 and a patient 106-ball 46 from Priyam Garg coupled by a 99-ball 55 from wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel ensured that Uttar Pradesh managed slender 9-run first innings lead over Assam on day 02.
Mukhtar Hussain (3/51) was the spearhead for Assam while Riyan Parag, Ranjit Mali and Sidharth Samrah chipped in with two apiece.
In response, Assam were 5/1 after six overs at the close of play.
Brief Scores: Assam 265 all-out in 81 overs (Riyan Parag 91, Subham Mandal 56, G Sharma 49; Karan Sharma 3/31, Aaqib Khan 3/39, Ankit Rajpoot 2/71) & 5/1 in 6 overs (PP Das 4; Yash Dayal 1/0) trail UP 274 all-our in 89 overs (Samarth Singh 70, Dhruv Jurel 55, Priyam Garg 46; Mukhtar Hussain 3/51, Riyan Parag 2/26) by 4 runs.