Parkar’s double ton props up Mumbai

Bengaluru, June 7: Debutant Suved Parkar pummelled Uttarakhand bowlers into submission, hitting a maiden double century to propel Mumbai to a mammoth 647 for 8 declared on the second day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here on Tuesday. Parkar’s stroke-filed 252 and Sarfaraz Khan’s aggressive 153 have put the 41-time Ranji Trophy winners in the driver’s seat.

In reply, Uttarakhand were 39 for two at stumps, losing skipper Jay Bista (0) and Mayank Mishra (4). Kamal Singh (27 not out) and Kunal Chandela (8 not out) were holding the fort at the close of play.

Uttarakhand have a mountain to climb as they trail Mumbai by 608 runs.

Parkar, thus, became the 12th Indian to score a double ton on his Ranji Trophy debut. He reached the mark with a tap to long-off off Swapnil Singh.

His 252 is now the fourth highest score by an Indian on debut and fifth in first-class cricket. He also followed the

footsteps of Mumbai coach Amol Mazumdar, who had scored 260 on his Ranji debut.

Parkar, who started from his overnight score of 104 not out, continued from where he left and struck 21 boundaries and four maximums during his mammoth 447ball innings.

Elsewhere, Sudip Gharami hogged the limelight for the second day running with a 186run knock as Bengal reached 577 for five against Jharkhand here. The seasoned Anustup Majumdar helped himself to a century (117) before Manoj Tiwary, a sitting minister for

youth affairs and sports in West Bengal, walked back unbeaten on 54 at the end of second day’s play.

In Alur (Karnataka), Uttar Pradesh bounced back after conceding a first innings lead against home favourites Karnataka as their quarterfinal hung in balance on a day 21 wickets tumbled here on Tuesday.

On a difficult KSCA pitch, left-arm orthodox spinner Saurabh Kumar (14-4-32-2) relied on his tight bowling to fox Karnataka, which collapsed to 100 for 8 after taking a healthy 98-run first innings lead.