Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Review of all the 7th round matches

The 7th round of Ranji Trophy unwrapped many class acts while many unexpected turns took place throughout the sessions. Assam went on to fetch a win against Delhi while Punjab were left to bite the bullet. Vidarbha had a good day at the office while Bengal faces another draw. Sandeep Warrier stars for Kerala, while skipper Suresh Raina wins it for Uttar Pradesh. Let’s have a look at all the actions that took place during the 7th round of  Ranji Trophy 2015-16:

Group A

Assam stuns Delhi:

Table toppers Delhi faced the wrath of spirited Assam, as Guwahati witnessed a phenomenal victory by the home boys. Batting first, Delhi were bundled for 149, as Krishna Das turned out to be the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 wickets.

The hosts in reply struggled initially, but Arun Karthik lifted the highlanders once again to take a slender lead. In reply, Delhi couldn’t stamp their authority in what turned out to be a low-scoring game, as Unmukt Chan topped the line up with a strokeful 44. Chasing 165, Assam were eyeing their maiden win against Delhi. The visitors struck early, as Assam lost 2 wickets early in their chase. But, Rahul Hazarika and Arun Karthik ensured no late hiccups, as Assam clinched the tie by 5 wickets.

KB Arun Karthik (Assam) was adjudged the man of the match.

Assam 157 (Arun Karthik 81, Manan 4-41) and 169 for 5 (Hazarika 59, Arun Karthik 55*) beatDelhi 149 (Manan 46, Milind 45, Krishna 4-38) and 172 (Chand 44, Verma 3-42, Syed Mohammad 3-49) by five wickets

Vidarbha ease past Rajasthan:

S. Badrinath and Ganesh Satish guided Vidarbha to a comfortable 8-wicket win after Aditya Sarwate’s 5 wickets and Umesh Yadav’s hat-trick floored the visitors for 226. Rajasthan put up a dismal show in the first innings as well, with Puneet Yadav leading the pack with a gritty 67. Vidarbha made full use of the home conditions, as they went past Rajasthan. Aditya Sarwate after doing well with the ball flourished with the bat as well.

Aditya Sarwate was rewarded for his all-round performance.

Vidarbha 247 (Sarwate 50, Tanveer ul Haq 4-60) and 199 for 2 (Badrinath 70*, Satish 61*) beatRajasthan 216 (Puneed 67, Dobal 51, Umesh 4-45) and 226 (Menaria 76, Saxena 54, Sarwate 5-58) by eight wickets

Haryana hangs on to a draw:

Natraj Behera, playing his 46th domestic match, notched up a double century, as Odisha put up a mammoth 529 with Ranjit Singh chipping in with a century and a gritty 93 from Halhadar Das. Haryana in reply couldn’t get hold of their chase, as Nitin Saini’s half century is the only bright spot in the short tale.

Mohanty and Pradhan shared 6 wickets between them, as Haryana were bundled for 216. Following on, an innings defeat loomed large on Haryana’s, but Chaitanya Bishnoi’s 86 and other fruitful performances from Nitin Saini and Rohit Sharma ensured a draw.

Natraj Behera (Odisha) was adjudged the man of the match.

Odisha 529 for 6 dec (Behera 255, Ranjit 112, Haladhar 93) drew with Haryana 216 (Saini 51, Yadav 46, Mohanty 3-51, Pradhan 3-53) and (f/o) 250 for 4 (Bishnoi 86*, Saini 64)

Bengal settles for a draw

Sudip Chatterjee continued his old school style of play, as he notched up yet another hundred to guide Bengal to a daunting 528. Rahul Tripathi lifted Maharashtra to 406, courtesy a well paced 132. A lead of 126 let Bengal bat with easy, as they notched up 100 in 33 overs before umpires called it stumps on the final day.

SD Chatterjee (Bengal) was adjudged the man of the match.

Bengal 528 for 8 dec (Chatterjee 147, Easwaran 65, Gani 59, Mandal, 58, Shaw 57, Goswami 51, Khurana 4-141) and 100 for 1 (Eswaran 53*) drew with Maharashtra 406 (Tripathi 132, Bawne 65, Ojha 3-71)

Group B

Gujarat wins big:

India discard RP Singh’s five-wicket haul on the final day handed Gujarat a 153-run victory over Madhya Pradesh in Surat. Madhya Pradesh couldn’t bear the brunt, as they were shot for 160. Earlier, Gujarat piled up 311 on the board, all thanks to half-centuries from Axar Patel, Rujul Bhatt and Manpreet Juneja.

Madhya Pradesh in reply only managed 200, as Naman Ojha was the highest scorer with 110-ball 56. Carrying a lead of 111, Gujarat piled up 202 in their second innings and set a target of 314, before RP  Singh went through MP’s batting cards.

RP Singh (Gujarat) was adjudged the player of the match.

Gujarat 311 (Juneja 61, Bhatt 51) and 202 for 9 dec (Juneja 41, J Saxena 6 for 60) beatMadhya Pradesh 200 (N Ojha 56, Bumrah 3 for 46) and 160 (A Sharma 55, RP Singh 5-33) by 153 runs

Uttar Pradesh grabs first innings honours:

Uttar Pradesh went on to score 348 in the first innings, before wrapping up Tamil Nadu for 231, with Praveen Kumar picking 4 wickets. Vijay Shankar missed out on his century, as Uttar Pradesh took the first innings lead. Skipper Raina continued his good form in the second innings by hitting a breezy  century at a strike rate of 105.07.

Chasing 391, Tamil Nadu got off to a good start, as  the openers provided a solid platform. The target turned out to be ungettable, as Tamil Nadu were 212/4 at stumps.

SK Raina (Uttar Pradesh) was awarded the man of the match.

Tamil Nadu 231 (Shankar 92, P Kumar 4-65) and 212 for 4 (Mukund 71, Aparajith 71) drew with Uttar Pradesh 348 (Shaukat 88, Raina 61) and 273 for 5(Raina 145*, Shaukat 75)

Mumbai beats Railways by 6 wickets:

Batting first, Arindam Ghosh lifted Railways to 217, while Shardul Thakur picked up 4 wickets. In reply, Mumbai went past the visitors, as they scaled 331, with Akhil Herwadkar top scoring with 145, while  Karan Sharma picked up 7 wickets for Railways.

The visitors notched up 408 in the second innings, with Wakaskar and Cheluvaraj notching up their respective hundreds. Mumbai went on to chase the tricky total with 6 wickets in hand, as Shreyas Iyer smacked 91 and Herwadkar chipped in with 75. Skipper Tare’s unbeaten 71 along with Siddesh Lad’s vital 41 saw them fetch vital points.

AA Herwadkar (Mumbai) earned the man of the match award.

Mumbai 331 (Herwadkar 145, Patil 83, Iyer 57, Karn 7-91) and 295 for 4 (Iyer 91, Herwadkar 75, Tare 71*) beat Railways 217 (Ghosh 67, Thakur 4-38) and 408 for 4 dec (Wakaskar 185, Cheluvaraj 133*) by six wickets

Irfan Pathan lifts Baroda to an emphatic win:

Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan lead Baroda to an innings and 116-run victory over Punjab, as both pacers ended with match hauls of six wickets in Vadodara.

Earlier, Kedar Devdhar stroked a crucial 186 to guide Baroda to 475, Deepak Bansal picked up 3 wickets for Punjab. For Punjab, Yuvraj Singh and Uday Kaul contributed with the bat, but the visitors couldn’t avoid the follow-on. Punjab couldn’t put up a better show o their second innings, as Baroda grabbed the headlines.

KH Devdhar (Baroda) was adjudged the man of the match.

Baroda 475 (Devdhar 186, Waghmode 96) beat Punjab 212 (Uday Kaul 58, Munaf 3-54, I Pathan 3-61) and 147 (I Pathan 3-19, Munaf 3-19) by an innings and 116 runs

Group C

Nadeem, Jaggi stars for Jharkhand:

Shahbaz Nadeem’s six-wicket haul in the second innings sealed the game for visitors by an innings and 67-run, as Jharkhand tripped Tripura in Agartala. Ajay Yadav dismissed Tripura’s last man, Abhijit Sakar, early on day four Jharkhand after Tripura started the day at 132 for 9.

Tripura folded for 161 in response to Jharkhand’s 394 in the first innings, which Jharkhand managed thanks to Ishank Jaggi’s unbeaten 102, Saurabh Tiwary’s 94 and Anand Singh’s 91.

R Shukla (Jharkhand) received the man of the match.

Jharkhand 394 for 4 dec (Jaggi 102*, Tiwary 94) beat Tripura 166 (Parvinder 66, Shukla 6-40) and 161 (Murasingh 52, Nadeem 6-50) by an innings and 67 runs

Services failed to push the final go:

Services’ effort to set up an outright win went in vain as their Group C game against Hyderabad pinned out to a draw in Delhi. Earlier in the game, Soumik Chatterjee stroked a valiant 156, as Services were lifted to 353.

Akshath Reddy notched up a century, as Hyderabad reached 272 but failed to earn the first innings lead.  Chasing 299 to win, Akshath Reddy once again capitalized from the start, as Hyderabad hanged in for a draw.

S Chatterjee (Services) received the man of the match award.

Services 353 (Chatterjee 156, Yashpal 51, Ravi Kiran 4-65) and 217 for 7 dec (Pathania 42*, Yashpal 41) drew with Hyderabad 272 (Reddy 125, Agarwal 50, Pathania 3-63) and 140 for 3 (Reddy 72*)

Himachal Pradesh moves to the second spot:

Saurashtra needed 291 runs at the start of the last day with only four wickets in hand, including captain Jaydev Shah who was unbeaten on 96. The skipper went on to make 142, but Saurashtra failed to earn the first innings lead, as they were bundled out for 437 in a high scoring encounter.

For Himachal, it was Prashant Chopra who top scored with 187, while Robin Bist chipped in with a fruitful century. Jaydev Unadkar picked up 4 wickets for Saurashtra while Akash Vasisht scalped 3 for Himachal. Rajkot witnessed  draw, as both the captains shook hands a stumps.

P Chopra (Himachal Pradesh) received the man of the match award.

Himachal Pradesh 551 (Chopra 187, Bist 101, Unadkat 4-69) drew with Saurashtra 437 (Shah 142, Jani 56, Unadkat 54)

Kerala thrashes Goa:

Robert Fernandez and Fabid Ahmed lifted Kerala from 147/5, as the visitors piled up 441 from a sudden death.

Goa failed to take home advantage, as they  tottered for 191. Sandeep Warrier scalped 6 wickets for Kerala. Following on, the script looked same, as Goa’s second innings turned out to be a sequel of the first. Sandeep once again triggered panic by picking up 3 wickets, as the hosts were bundled 167.

Fabid Ahmed (Kerala) received the man of the match award.

Kerala 441 (Fernandez 109, Fabid 106) beat Goa 191 (Desai 38, Warrier 6-44) and 167 (Parameswaran 38, Warrier 3-31) by an innings and 81 runs