Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Vijay and Karthik lead strong Tamil Nadu reply

Tamil Nadu 198 for 2 (Vijay 91*, Arun Karthik 87) trail Gujarat 343 (Parthiv 166, Balaji 4-51, Srinivas 4-75) by 145 runs

Tamil Nadu dictated terms on the second day in Ahmedabad with a strong batting performance, led by half-centuries by M Vijay and Arun Karthik. Tamil Nadu ended the day 145 adrift of Gujarat's 343, but lost only two wickets, with Vijay going strong with an unbeaten 91. Earlier, Aushik Srinivas and L Balaji took four wickets each to keep Gujarat from piling on a massive score. Resuming on 275 for 5, the overnight pair of Parthiv Patel and Timil Patel progressed steadily to 316 before a lower order collapse gave Tamil Nadu the initiative. Srinivas and Balaji bowled well in tandem as Gujarat lost their last five wickets for 27 runs. Parthiv went on to score 166. Tamil Nadu got off to a bad start when they lost S Anirudha for a duck in the second over but it was smooth sailing from there on as Vijay and Karthik played positively. Karthik progressed at more than a run a ball at one stage and looked set to score a century but was stumped on 87 off Niraj Patel. Vijay, who was named in the Indian Test squad against Sri Lanka, was particularly strong against the spinners and his innings included nine fours and a six. With this start, Tamil Nadu look well placed to take a first-innings lead.

Punjab 221 and 59 for 3 (Khader 2-17) lead Hyderabad 193 (Quadri 73*, Ablish 4-70, Harmeet 3-52, Gony 3-58) by 87 runs
Scorecard

Punjab's seam trio of Harmeet Singh, Luv Ablish and Manpreet Gony combined to bowl out Hyderabad for 193 and secure a first-innings lead of 28 against Hyderabad in Mohali. Harmeet and Ablish's early strikes had Hyderabad tottering at 54 for 5, and there was further trouble for the visitors when they lost the experienced VVS Laxman for 26. The score at that stage read 89 for 7, but a fighting unbeaten 73 by Syed Quadri helped Hyderabad fight back. Quadri added 52 with MP Arjun and 47 with Ashwin Yadav. Gony took three lower order wickets to bowl Hyderabad out before they could get closer to his team's total of 221. The Punjab top order however faltered in the second innings and ended the day with an overall lead of 87. Mohammed Khader, the left-arm seamer, got rid of the openers. Pankaj Dharmani was unbeaten at stumps on 10, but it was a significant day for his career as he crossed the 7000-run mark in the Ranji Trophy.

Himachal Pradesh 34 for 0 trail Railways 419 (Sanyal 92, Goud 58, Sarandeep 7-120) by 385 runs
Scorecard

Sanjib Sanyal led Railways' lower order effort with 92 to post a strong 419 against Himachal Pradesh at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Sarandeep Singh, the offspinner, was rewarded with seven wickets after sending down close to 57 overs. Railways lost Yere Goud early for 58 but that's when Sanyal came in and took control, supported by Akshay Girap and Karan Sharma. Sanyal hit eight fours and a six before he was the eighth wicket to fall, caught behind off Sarandeep. The Himachal openers began cautiously, adding 34 in 20 overs before stumps

Heavy showers ensured no play was possible for the second consecutive day between Mumbai and Orissa at the Brabourne Stadium.

Group B

Delhi 154 and 93 for 2 (Dhawan 43*) trail Karnataka 260 (Dravid 78, Narwal 4-71, Suyal 4-67) 13 runs
Scorecard

Rahul Dravid led the way for Karnataka with a half-century to secure a first-innings lead of 106 against Delhi at the Roshanara Club Ground. Delhi only managed 154 on the opening day so it was a question of how long Karnataka could extend their lead. Dravid was the cornerstone of Karnataka's effort with 78, an innings which included 11 fours. The lower order then continued to frustrate Delhi, with the last-wicket pair of Abhimanyu Mithun and S Aravind adding 47. The seam-bowling pair of Sumit Narwal and Pawan Suyal took four wickets apiece. The Delhi batsmen put in a much better effort in their second innings, ending the day with a deficit of 13.

Saurashtra 125 for 3 (Mehta 44*) trail Uttar Pradesh 395 (Parvinder 122, Dhurv 5-107, Jobanputra 4-82) by 270 runs
Scorecard

Saurashtra's Rakesh Dhurv and Sandeep Jobanputra took nine wickets between them but Uttar Pradesh held the upper hand in Rajkot as they posted 395 and halted Saurashtra's effort with three wickets. Parvinder Singh added only two to his overnight score when he was dismissed by Jobanputra. The lower order then put together partnerships to frustrate the home side. Dhurv, the left-arm spinner, took his fifth five-wicket haul. Saurashtra didn't get off to the best of starts, losing three wickets for 59, but Pratik Mehta and Shitanshu Kotak steadied the innings with a stand of 66.

Bengal 102 for 3 (Arindam 52*) trail Baroda 307 (Pinal 63, Swapnil 43*, Lahiri 3-29) by 205 runs
Scorecard

A decent effort by Baroda's lower order - led by Pinal Shah - lifted the score to 307 against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. Shah hit 63 and he was supported by Swapnil Singh, who made an unbeaten 43. Sourav Sarkar, Saurasish Lahiri and Laxmi Ratan Shukla all took three wickets apiece. Bengal were under a bit of pressure when Irfan Pathan struck to leave them at 73 for 3. But Arindam Das held firm till stumps with an unbeaten 52, with Sourav Ganguly on 15 for company.


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