Mayank Agarwal scored a double century to help Karnataka post 407 in their first innings and defeat Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy semifinal in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Skipper Mayank Agarwal scored a double century to help Karnataka defeat Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy semifinal.
Agarwal resumed his innings with a score of 110 and played more intently on the second day, scoring 249 off 429 balls. During his marathon knock, he hit an astonishing 28 boundaries and six sixes.
After resuming their innings with a score of 229 for 5, Karnataka scored an additional 178 runs in 46.3 overs.
Srinivas Sharath, wicketkeeper for Agarwal’s overnight partner. Scored 66 runs before being caught LBW by Chetan Sakariya five overs into the second day of play.
Before Vidwath Kaverappa (15) provided Agarwal with some support. Krishnappa Gowtham and Vijaykumar Vyshak, who both left in quick succession, did not pose much of a threat to the scorers.
On the second day, Agarwal put on a complete show as he confidently hit shots to every part of the field to propel Karnataka forward.
Saurashtra’s Sakariya (3/73) and Kushang Patel (3/109) each took three wickets. Saurashtra responded by scoring 76 for 2 in 30 overs at the end of the play.
Still, 331 runs behind Karnataka with three days left in the match. Sheldon Jackson and wicketkeeper Harvik Desai each scored 27 to remain unbeaten.
Jackson looked aggressive, scoring runs off just 31 balls with the help of six boundaries while Desai held one end up. On Thursday, Saurashtra’s two outfielders were Snell Patel and Vishvaraj Jadeja, both 22, who were run out.
Vidwath Kaverappa, a right-arm fast bowler, took care of both Saurashtra batsmen by cleaning them up with two wickets.
Brief Ratings: First Innings in Karnataka: 407 runs were run out in 133.3 overs (Mayank Agarwal 249 and Srinivas Sharath 66); Kushang Patel 3/109, Chetan Sakariya 3/73).
First Innings of Saurashtra: 76 for 2 in 30 overs. With Sheldon Jackson scoring 27 and Harvik Desai scoring 27; 2-24 Vidwath Kaverappa).
Bengal bowlers struck twice toward the end of Day 2 to put themselves in a commanding position against defending champions Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy semifinal on Thursday in Indore.
MP 56/2 responded to Bengal’s 438 on Day 2. Young wicketkeeper Abishek Porel scored a half-century. On the second day, Bengal added 131 runs from 54.3 overs to be all out for 438.
This was primarily due to the 78-run sixth-wicket partnership between the 20-year-old Porel (51) and captain Manoj Tiwary (42). Bengal started the day at 307 for 4.
In response, MP finished their first innings at 56 for 2, still, 382 runs behind. Tiwary consumed 129 balls and hit five boundaries, adding 37 runs to his overnight 5 to push Bengal past the 400-run mark.
Nine overs later, Porel was the next Bengal batter to be run out, and he was run out. Eight of his 102 balls were fours.
For Bengal, the final four wickets resulted in 37 runs. The day’s most successful MP bowler was Kumar Kartikeya, who took three wickets, including Tiwary’s, for 95 runs.
Yash Dubey (12) and wicketkeeper Himanshu Mantri (23) shared just 27 runs between them as MP struggled in response.
In the 18th over, Akash Deep (1/10) dropped Dubey, and Mantri fell to Ishan Porel (1/4) seven overs later. At stumps, Anubhav Agarwal and Saransh Jain were batting on 17 and 4, respectively.
Anustup Majumdar (120) and the young Sudip Gharami (112) hit centuries on Wednesday’s first day to set up Bengal’s big first-innings total.
Brief Ratings: First-innings Bengal: 438 runs were scored in 141.3 overs (Anustup Majumdar, 120, Sudip Gharami, 112.
Abishek Porel, 51, and Manoj Tiwary, 42); 3/95), Kumar Kartikeya First Pitches for Madhya Pradesh: 56 runs out of 28.