da jogodeouro： A round-up of the third day’s play from Group A Ranji Trophy matches played on December 1, 2013
da supremo： ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Mumbai will be without the services of Ajinkya Rahane for the rest of the league matches•AFP
Mumbai completed their rout of fellow Maharashtra team, Vidarbha, in just 5.4 overs into the final day. They began the day needing two wickets after having reduced Vidarbha – who were chasing 530 – to 177 for 8. Shardul Thakur accounted for the last two wickets, registering a first-class personal best of 4 for 48. He bounced the No. 10 Akshay Wakhare repeatedly before the tail-ender finally gloved one through to the wicketkeeper. No. 11 Sandeep Singh didn’t fancy much of it either as he backed away and swung at the third ball he faced, playing on to his stumps. Shrikant Wagh remained unbeaten on 41.Mumbai now lead the Group A table with 19 points, and are three points clear of Punjab, who are placed second. However, Mumbai will be without the services of Zaheer Khan and Ajinkya Rahane for the rest of the league matches as both of them have been included for the tour of South Africa. The attack, especially, will be inexperienced now with Ajit Agarkar retired and Dhawal Kulkarni injured.
ScorecardKarnataka completed a tricky chase on the final day to beat Odisha by four wickets in Cuttack. Odisha had started the day on 169 for 4, with Biplab Samantray and Abhilash Mallick not out on 50 and 47 respectively. Mallick was the first to go however soon after reaching a half-century when he was caught by Kunal Kapoor off the bowling of Abhimanyu Mithun. Subhrajit Sahoo followed, trapped in front by Mithun, while Alok Sahoo and Deepak Behera became the bowler’s fourth and fifth victims not too long after. Both opening bowlers, HS Sharath and Mithun, shared all the wickets as they took a five-for each, with Odisha being bundled for 279 in 89 overs.With just 127 runs to chase, Karnataka’s openers did not create a foundation as Mayank Agarwal was caught behind off the bowling of Suryakant Pradhan for just 5. Ganesh Satish came in at No. 3 and together with KL Rahul was able to put on a 58-run stand. Ganesh Satish fell just five overs later as Karnataka needed to build useful partnerships to see out the chase. Three wickets fell in the space of just six runs to leave Karnataka at 109 for 6, but Kunal Kapoor and Abrar Kazi held their nerve to see them knock off the target in the 42nd over. Robin Uthappa batted at No. 7 as a result of a hamstring injury. With this result Karnataka move up to fourth place in Group A, where they have a buffer of four points over Delhi and Odisha.
ScorecardThe encounter between Jharkhand and Gujarat petered out into a stalemate when Jharkhand finished their second innings at stumps on the fourth day with 166 for 7. With this result, Gujarat are able to move ahead of Punjab to second place on 17 points. Saurabh Tiwary, who had retired hurt on 0*, came back as the No. 8 batsman to add 50 off 87 balls. Bhavin Thakkar who had retired hurt on 2* on the third evening also returned to add an unbeaten 50. The pair added 90 runs for the eighth wicket and ensured that Jharkhand took away at least one point from the encounter. Beginning the day on 28 for no loss, opener Rameez Nemat was the first to fall when he was caught behind off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah. Just four balls later and Jharkhand suffered a double-blow when Bhavik Thaker was caught by Samit Gohel for just 2. Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals as the top and middle-order, save for Kumar Deobrat’s 22, succumbed to the pressure applied by Gujarat’s opening bowlers.
