DLF League

Wednesday 12, November 2008

With thumping wins already in the bag for Mumbai and Punjab, other matches look like heading right to the wire in the Ranji Trophy Super League.

GROUP A

Gujarat v Mumbai at Surat
Mumbai wrapped up the most convincing of wins to compound Gujarat’s poor start to the season. Resuming their first innings on 77-6, Gujarat were bowled out for 203, a total bolstered by an 100-run ninth wicket partnership from Ashraf Makda (73) and Amit Singh (41). Singh was eventually clean bowled by Usman Malvi, and when Makda fell just two runs later Wasim Jaffer duly enforced the follow on. From here things went rapidly from bad to worse for Parthiv Patel’s side, as they collapsed embarrassingly to 44 all out, with only Singh (13) managing to reach double figures. With Ajit Agarkar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ramesh Powar each snaring three wickets to continue their good form, and Jaffer in the runs, Mumbai look a dangerous proposition.

Mumbai 486 (W Jaffer 172, AM Rahane 104; MB Parmar 6-143); Gujarat 203 (AM Makada 73; DS Kulkarni 4-70) & 44 (DS Kulkarni 3-7, AB Agarkar 3-15, RR Powar 3-19). Mumbai won by an innings and 239 runs.

Points: Mumbai 6, Gujarat 0

Punjab v Rajasthan at Mohali
Despite Vineet Saxena’s defiant 83, Rajasthan were overwhelmed by Punjab on day three. Resuming play with their side on 57-6, Saxena and Sumit Mathur (31) battled hard against an accurate Punjab attack in an attempt to set their hosts a challenging target, but Charanjit Singh (3-38) and Ankur Kakkar (3-30) were not to be denied. Singh wrapped up the innings with the first ball of the 73rd over, and with only 41 runs required, Punjab were never likely to be stretched. Although Sunny Sohal fell to Venugopal Rao for 10, Ravi Inder Singh saw his side home at a canter to seal a thoroughly deserved victory.

Rajasthan 133 (Gagandeep Singh 4-37; MS Gony 4-39) & 169 (VA Saxena 83; A Kakkar 3-30, Charanjit Singh 3-38); Punjab 262 (S Sohal 106; G Singh 4-67) & 41-1. Punjab won by nine wickets.

Points: Punjab 5, Rajasthan 0

Saurashtra v Orissa at Rajkot
Disciplined bowling performances from Jolly Jobanputra (4-56) and Kamlesh Makvana (4-132) have left Orissa with a mountain to climb on the final day. Despite half-centuries from Shiv Sunder Das (76), Saurabh Sehgal (64*) and Subit Biswal (62), the Orissa batting line-up never looked comfortable as Jobanputra got the ball to rear off a length and Makvana found consistent turn on a wearing pitch. With Orissa still 318 runs in arrears, the match equation is now brutally simple for both teams; the visitors must bat out the day, Saurashtra must throw caution in search of wickets. Given the state of the pitch, the smart money is on Saurashtra.

Saurashtra 620-4 (CA Pujara 302*, RA Jadeja 232*); 302 (SS Das 76, SV Sehgal 64, S Biswal 62; SP Jobanputra 4-56, KR Makvana 4-142) & 4-0. Orissa trail Saurashtra by 318 runs with ten second innings wickets in hand.

Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
This match looks destined to end in stalemate. Puneet Bisht’s watchful 78 ensured that Delhi only conceded a 50-run advantage to their hosts, despite the best efforts of 21-year-old seamer Ashwin Yadav, who picked up the remarkable figures of 6-52 from 28.2 overs. But with both sides yet to start their second innings and only a day’s play left in the match, a share of the spoils looks inevitable.

Hyderabad 334 (SA Pai 130, Abhinav Kumar 76; P Sangwan 4-86); Delhi 284 (P Bisht 78, A Chopra 51; Ashwin Yadav 6-52). Hyderabad lead Delhi by 50 runs with ten second innings wickets in hand.

GROUP B

Baroda v Uttar Pradesh at Vadodara
A half-century from Praveen Kumar gave Uttar Pradesh a handy lead before Baroda began their second innings in style to gain the upper hand on day three at Vadodara. Having claimed five wickets on day two, Irfan Pathan added another scalp to finish with 6-85, before Rakesh Solanki scored his second half-century of the game. With Satyajit Parab also passing 50, Baroda ended the day with a considerable advantage and will look for quick runs tomorrow morning before attempting to claim ten wickets on the final day.

Baroda 235 (RK Solanki 71; P Kumar 5-71) & 239-4 (SS Parab 67, RK Solanki 60); Uttar Pradesh 286 (TM Srivastava 79, M Kaif 51, P Kumar 50; IK Pathan 6-85). Baroda lead by 188 runs with six second innings wickets in hand.

Karnataka v Tamil Nadu at Bangalore
Karnataka were starring down the barrel at the end of day three at Bangalore, as Tamil Nadu put in a disciplined bowling display to force the follow on. Chinnaswamy Suresh was the pick of the visitors’ bowlers as the Karnataka top-order failed to build on a series of starts, with only Chandrashekar Raghu adding respectability to the scorecard. The home side must now bat through the final day to save the match.

Tamil Nadu 531 (S Vidyut 193, AB Karthik 149); Karnataka 267 (C Raghu 76; C Suresh 4-58) & 48-0. Karnataka trail Tamil Nadu by 216 runs with ten second innings wickets in hand.

Maharashtra v Andhra at Nasik
A late-order collapse from Maharashtra left the game at Nasik heading for a draw at the end of day three. A century from Harshad Khadiwale, 77 from Rohan Bhosale and further half-centuries from Kedar Jadhav and Ameya Shrikhande had put the home side in a position of strength, but with none of the bottom five making double figures, as Marripuri Suresh claimed 4-75, the innings petered out. Andhra will have to bat well early on the final day, but a stalemate looks the most likely conclusion.

Andhra 348 (HH Watekar 142; SM Fallah 6-102) & 2-0; Maharashtra 391 (HH Khadiwale 103, RU Bhosale 77, KM Jadhav 63, AJ Shrikhande 59; M Suresh 4-75). Andhra trail by 43 runs with ten second innings in hand.