Ranji Trophy round-up: Maharashtra take 3 points in drawn game against Mumbai

Ranji Trophy round-up: Maharashtra take 3 points in drawn game against Mumbai, Dhapola stars in Uttarakhand's win Maharashtra, who had taken a first innings lead of 79, were bundled out for 254 in their second essay with skipper Rahul Tripathi top scoring with 76 at the MCA International Stadium at Gahunje on the outskirts of the city. For Mumbai, Shivam Dubey (3-25) and Shivam Malhotra (3-41) took three wickets each. Mumbai, who are yet to register a single win, were set an improbable 334-run target and ended up at 135 for 5 when the match was declared drawn. Experienced Aditya Tare remained unbeaten on 52 in company of Shivam Dubey (8 not out). Maharashtra opener Swapnil Gugale, who had hit a century in the first innings, was adjourned as the Man of the Match. Meanwhile at Valsad, the Gujarat versus Railways game ended in a tame draw with the visitors grabbing 3 points on the basis of the first innings lead. Railways wicketkeeper Nitin Bhille, who had scored 116 in their first essay was adjudged as the Man of the Match. RANJI-GROUP B: Tamil Nadu beat Kerala to register first win of season Tamil Nadu registered their first win of the season, beating Kerala by 151 runs Sunday in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match at the M A Chidambaram stadium on Sunday. The victory and six points renewed Tamil Nadu's hopes after the team had logged only five points from four matches prior to the Kerala game. They are now at fifth place in the standings with 11 points. Kerala are second in the group on 13 points behind Madhya Pradesh (18). Needing 369 to win their third match, Kerala were bowled out for 217 despite half-centuries from Sanju Samson (91) and Sijomon Joseph (55). The two added 93 runs for the third wicket to defy the Tamil Nadu bowlers, who were on the lookout for breakthroughs. Resuming at 27 for 1 this morning, Kerala lost K B Arun Karthick for 33 to a catch by N Jagadeesan off Sai Kishore's bowling. The partnership between Samson and Sijomon Joseph, who showed great resolve, raised Kerala's hopes of pulling off a draw. Left-arm medium-pacer T Natarajan, who was the star for the home side in the second innings picking up five wickets, broke through by getting Joseph leg-before. None of the other batsmen showed any resistance as Natarajan triggered the collapse and sealed an important and much-needed win for Tamil Nadu. RANJI-GROUP C Ranji Trophy: Jharkhand bowlers held their nerves as they guided their team to a nail-biting 2-run win over Odisha in the Elite Group C Ranji Trophy game on Sunday. Subransu Senapati played a valiant unbeaten knock of 157 off 321 balls for the visitors, farming the strike beautifully in the company of the last two batsmen, but failed to take his team past the finishing line. Chasing a stiff target of 260, Odisha were reeling at 8-154 when Senapati stitched two crucial partnerships with number 10 Basant Mohanty (4 off 38 balls) and number 11 Dhiraj Singh (7 off 43 balls) to take his side on the cusp of a memorable win. But experienced pacer Varun Aaron (2-57) cleaned up Dhiraj Singh to dash off Odisha's hopes as Jharkhand registered a heart-stopping win after conceding the first innings lead at the JSCA International Stadium. For the hosts, Anukul Roy (4-51) was the main wicket-taker who was ably supported by Aaron, Rahul Shukla (2-43), Ashish Kumar (1-36) and Rahul Prasad (1-64). Senapati held the fort from one end but fell short of partners. But he was adjourned as the Man of the Match. The close match brought back memories of the unforgettable 1991-92 final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai when Kapil Dev's Haryana managed victory by a similar margin against Mumbai to lift the Ranji Trophy. Meanwhile, at Agartala, Haryana clinched six points as they defeated hosts Tripura by 55 runs. At Porvorim, the Goa versus Services match ended in a tame draw with the hosts grabbing 3 points on the basis of their first innings lead. RANJI-PLATE Dhapola stars in Uttarakhand's fifth win on trot Uttarakhand pace sensation Deepak Dhapola returned a match haul of 11 wickets to help his side beat Meghalaya by eight wickets and secure a fifth win on the trot in the Ranji Trophy Plate Group on Sunday. Dhapola, who bagged a six-for in the first innings including a hat-trick, bagged 5/59 for a match haul of 11/111, as Meghalaya were bundled out for 230 in the final session. Set a target of 51 under fading lights, Uttarakhand knocked it off in 6.1 overs, courtesy Vaibhav Singh Panwar's 12-ball 32 not out (6×4, 1×6). Uttarakhand sit pretty on top of the table with 33 points, with a huge 14-point lead over second placed Meghalaya. Such has been the dominance by the Rajat Bhatia-led side that they are the only side in this season's Ranji Trophy yet to lose or draw a match. The skipper led from the front with three back-to-back centuries, which included a double. But the biggest find for Uttarakhand has been the 28-year-old pacer Dhapola who leads the charts with 37 wickets at a stunning average of 9.89. Dailyhunthttp://www.pearltrees.com/zeevanjosna

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