Jalaj Saxena, Anukul Roy make headlines as Ranji Trophy Round 5 comes to a close 

Jalaj Saxena in action (Source: Twitter/@lal_kal)

It was an action-packed day as many performers rose to prominence for their respective teams, making a noteworthy mark in the fifth round of the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy.

Saxena bags career-best first-class figures 

Kerala's Jalaj Saxena grabbed eyeballs on Friday as his eight-wicket haul in the second innings of the match against Services led his side to a 204-run win.

While his figures of 8-36 is the career-best for him, the milestones did not stop there as he completed 400 first-class wickets in the process.

After taking 11 scalps versus Services, Saxena continues to be the highest wicket-taker in the season with 43 wickets to his name.

Roy's five-for secures win for Jharkhand 

Anukul Roy shepherded Jharkhand to a 44-run win with his five-for. Chhattisgarh looked on course to chase 357 runs, however, Roy's five-wicket haul in the second innings acted as a roadblock.

While Roy had already started to do the damage on Day 4, he added the prized scalp of Amandeep Khare, who was batting on 151, to his kitty.

However Khare's wicket was the most valuable one, the left-arm spinner also outclassed Avnish Dhaliwal and Ajay Mandal.

Ankit Kalsi, Rishi Dhawan's 203-run stand sets up Himachal Pradesh's victory 

Chasing 308 runs, Himachal Pradesh looked down and out with a loss looming large. However, a partnership of 203 runs for the fifth wicket between Ankit Kalsi and Rishi Dhawan played a mighty hand in their three-wicket win.

Although skipper Dhawan walked back soon after hitting a century, Kalsi played an unbeaten 165-run knock to help Himachal achieve the target which at one stage seemed far beyond their reach.

Baltej surprises J&K 

Punjab's Baltej Singh recorded consecutive five-fors against Jammu and Kashmir as Punjab won the match by four wickets.

While the medium-pacer had already taken five wickets in the prior innings, he achieved the same on Friday, making it his successive five-wicket haul.

His victims included Shubham Khajuria, Shivansh Sharma, Fazil Rashid, Auqib Nabi and Umar Nazir in the second innings.

Read more: Bangladesh Cricket Board not in favour of continuing split coaching policy