RP dents Jharkhand, Gujarat take control
NAGPUR: Gujarat nudged ahead when RP Singh sent back the ominous-looking Ishan Kishan, the last of his three victims of the day, as Jharkhand trailed by 176 runs in their Ranji Trophy semifinal.
At stumps on the second day, Jharkhand were 214/5, having ended Gujarat’s first innings on 390 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.
Gujarat owe their total to the in-form Priyank Panchal (149), who could add just five runs to his overnight total. Gujarat were 283 for three at close of play on the first day. While Ishank Jaggi (40) and Rahul Shukla were at the crease for Jharkhand.
After the departure of skipper Saurabh Tiwary (39) with the total reading 121 for four, Jharkhand were on the road to recovery with Kishan and Jaggi adding adding 92 runs for the fifth wicket.
However, a charged-up RP broke the partnership and gave his team the crucial breakthrough when he had Kishan caught after a counter-attacking 59-ball 61.
RAJKOT: Defending champions Mumbai reached 171/4, still trailing by 134 runs, on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Aditya Tare (19) and Shreyas Iyer (24) were at the crease when umpires ended the day’s action. Tamil Nadu scored 305 in the first innings. Earlier, Mumbai began on a bad note by losing opener Prithvi Shaw in the first over.
390 (P Panchal 149, P Patel 62, RP Singh 40; A Yadav 3/67, R Shukla 3/71) ; 214/5 (I Kishan 61, I Jaggi 40 batting; RP Singh 3/48)
305 all out (B Indrajit 64, K Gandhi 50; A Nayar 4/66, S Thakur 4/75); 171/6 (S Yadav 73, P Waghela 48)