DLF League

Wednesday 19, November 2008

Things are hotting up in the Ranji Plate. With fixtures now coming thick and fast, the early pace setters are emerging.

Group A

Goa v Jharkhand at Margao
Steady bowling from Saurabh Bandekar (5-53) and Robin D'Souza (4-40) allowed Goa to wrap a comfortable victory on the fourth day. Set exactly 300 to win, Jharkhand slumped to 26-4 in the nineteenth over before Saurabh Tiwary (72) and Amir Hashmi (24) put on 44 for the fifth wicket. Hashmi was eventually trapped lbw by D’Souza having survived 92 deliveries, and his dismissal exposed a Jharkhand tail that simply had no response to the remorseless accuracy of the Goa seamers.

Goa 190 (SB Jakati 68; SS Rao 5-51) & 256 (A Katkar 76; SK Roy 4-75); Jharkhand 147 & 138 (SS Tiwary 72; SS Bandekar 5-53, RDR D'Souza 4-40).

Match result: Goa won by 161 runs
Points: Goa 5, Jharkhand 0

Himachal Pradesh v Jammu & Kashmir at Dharamsala
Jammu & Kashmir collapsed utterly on the third day to hand Himachal Pradesh the most emphatic of wins. Having set the visitors the notional target of 625, Himachal Pradesh picked up consistent wickets on the third day, Sarandeep Singh claiming 4-49 with his off-breaks to round off an impressive match. With a batting line-up in fine form and a potent attack, Himachal Pradesh look a formidable outfit.

Himachal Pradesh 295 (BJ Thakkar 122, A Mannu 50; S Beigh 6-94) & 449-1 (Sangram Singh 215, VA Indulkar 109, BJ Thakkar 104); Jammu & Kashmir 120 (Sarandeep Singh 4-37) & 144 (Sarandeep Singh 4-49).

Match result: Himachal Pradesh won by 480 runs
Points: Himachal Pradesh 5, Jammu & Kashmir 0

Kerala v Haryana at Palakkad
Despite two wickets for Amit Mishra, Kerala comfortably saw out the final day to secure a draw. Mishra tried eight bowlers in an attempt to engineer a breakthrough, but, with Sambasiva Sarma notching an unbeaten 111 and the pitch offering little assistance, the match ended honours even.

Kerala 334 (KSS Sarma 103, VG Nair 65; JT Billa 6-58) & 236-2 (KSS Sarma 111); Haryana 581-4 (R Dewan 254, Sunny Singh 124, Sumeet Sharma 114).

Match result: Match drawn
Points: Haryana 3, Kerala 1

Group B

Bengal v Services at Kolkata
Bengal overwhelmed Services inside three days as the hosts turned in a consummate all-round performance. Centuries from debutant Rohan Banerjee (176) and skipper Laxmi Shukla (101) formed the basis of Bengal’s massive first innings lead, and with Ranadeb Bose (3-34) and Ashok Dinda (4-28) in fine fettle, the Services were simply outclassed.

Services 107 (SS Sarkar 5-21) & 109 (AB Dinda 4-28); Bengal 442-6 (RB Banerjee 176, LR Shukla 101, AP Majumdar 80).

Match result: Bengal won by an innings and 226 runs
Points: Bengal 6, Services 0

Tripura v Vidarbha at Agartala
Ranjit Paradkar proved the difference between the two sides. The only batsman to come to terms with a difficult pitch, Paradkar’s two half-centuries formed the foundation of both Vidarbha’s innings. Tripura captain Tushar Saha was on fine form with the ball, picking up match-figures of 10-116 with his slow left-armers, but his efforts proved in vain.

Vidarbha 224 (RS Paradkar 75; TS Saha 6-51) & 203 (RS Paradkar 50; J Debnath 4-54, TS Saha 4-65); Tripura 150 (MS Acharya 4-23) & 204 (B Dey 75; PV Gandhe 4-58).

Match result: Vidarbha won by 73 runs
Points: Vidarbha 5, Tripura 0