Ranji Trophy: Sai Kishore guides Tamil Nadu to victory; UP, Bengal and Vidarbha register wins

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Vidarbha registered victories in the second round of the Ranji Trophy, with Sai Kishore’s 10-wicket haul, Rinku Singh’s century and Shahbaz Ahmed’s impressive bowling performance among the highlights on Day 3 on Tuesday. 

Tamil Nadu secured an innings and 66-run victory over Uttarakhand, with left-arm spinner Sai Kishore claiming 10 wickets in the match. He returned figures of 4/40 and 6/34 across the two innings to dismantle the opposition batting line-up.

Pradosh Ranjan Paul played a key role with the bat, scoring 136 off 179 deliveries as Tamil Nadu posted 313 in their first innings. Baba Indrajith contributed 77 runs, while Uttarakhand failed to recover from Kishore’s bowling efforts.

Uttar Pradesh defeated Goa by 68 runs, riding on Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 118 and Zeeshan Ansari’s five-wicket haul. Aryan Juyal added 74, while Yash Dalal remained unbeaten on 36 as Uttar Pradesh set Goa a target of 236 runs. Goa were bowled out for 167 despite Suyash Prabhudessai’s 72.

Vidarbha recorded a three-wicket win over defending champions Jammu and Kashmir in a closely fought encounter. J&K were dismissed for 123 in their second innings, with Nachiket Bhute claiming 5/48 and Sunil Kumar taking 4/30. J&K slumped to 26/6 while defending a target of 79, but Harsh Dubey, unbeaten on 22, and Bhute, who remained not out on 13, guided Vidarbha home.

Bengal defeated Services by 60 runs after Shahbaz Ahmed delivered a decisive bowling performance. Shahbaz returned figures of 4/35 and 3/44 in the match as Services were bowled out for 148 while chasing 209.

In another Group B fixture, Punjab enforced the follow-on against Chhattisgarh after dismissing them for 206, with Harpreet Brar taking 7/56. Chhattisgarh had earlier been boosted by centuries from Uday Saharan (161) and Salil Arora (107). Punjab reached 123/3 in their second innings at stumps, extending their overall lead to 127 runs.

In Group C, Maharashtra declared their first innings at 527/5 against Jharkhand, with Ankit Bawne scoring 169 and Ruturaj Gaikwad remaining unbeaten on 101. Jharkhand were 130/1 at the close, trailing by 228 runs.

Madhya Pradesh posted 345 against Puducherry, led by Rajat Patidar’s unbeaten 122, Chanchal Rathore’s 78 and Shubham Sharma’s 58. Puducherry reached 98/1 at stumps, with Ritesh Gudge unbeaten on 47.

In Group D, Mumbai declared at 528/8 against Himachal Pradesh. Sarfaraz Khan scored 154, while Akash Anand remained unbeaten with 117. Siddhesh Lad contributed 87, and Musheer Khan made 57. Himachal Pradesh ended the day at 144/3, trailing by 244 runs.

--IANS

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