Parkar’s stroke-filed 252 and Sarfaraz Khan’s aggressive 153 have put the 41-time Ranji Trophy winners in the driver’s seat.
Debutant Suved Parkar pummelled Uttarakhand bowlers into submission, hitting a maiden double century to propel Mumbai to a mammoth 647 for eight declared on the second day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Parkar’s stroke-filed 252 and Sarfaraz Khan’s aggressive 153 have put the 41-time Ranji Trophy winners in the driver’s seat. In reply, Uttarakhand were 39 for two at stumps, losing skipper Jay Bista (0) and Mayank Mishra (4). Kamal Singh (27 not out) and Kunal Chandela (8 not out) were holding the fort at the close of play. Uttarakhand have a mountain to climb as they trail Mumbai by 608 runs.
Parkar, thus, became the 12th Indian to score a double ton on his Ranji Trophy debut. He reached the mark with a tap to long-off off Swapnil Singh.
His 252 is now the fourth highest score by an Indian on debut and fifth in first-class cricket. He also followed the footsteps of Mumbai coach Amol Mazumdar, who had scored 260 on his Ranji debut.
Parkar, who started from his overnight score of 104 not out, continued from where he left and struck 21 boundaries and four maximums during his mammoth 447-ball innings. He didn’t spare a single Uttarakhand bowler during his knock.
Sarfaraz, who resumed at the overnight score of 69, notched up his seventh first-class hundred.
Sarfaraz and Parkar, who had impressed with his foot-work, shared a staggering 267-run stand for the fourth wicket.
An audacious sweep off Mayank Mishra (1/120) cost Sarfaraz his wicket.
Sarfaraz hammered 14 boundaries and four sixes in his aggressive knock to continue his dream run in first-class cricket.
Aditya Tare (1) didn’t trouble the scorers as he nicked one to wicketkeeper Shivam Khurana off left-arm pacer Agrim Tiwari’s bowling.
Parkar then found an able ally in all-rounder Shams Mulani, who played his role to perfection by hitting a crucial 59.
Mulani and Parkar added 106-runs for the sixth wicket and it was during their partnership that Mumbai crossed the 500-run mark.
Mulani hit six boundaries and three sixes before being castled by Kamal Singh.
Tanush Kotian (28) and Tushar Deshpande (20 not out) also supported Parkar, who was eventually run out, courtesy a direct hit by Kunal Chandela, after which Mumbai skipper Prithvi Shaw declared the innings.
Medium-pacer Deepak Dhapola (3/89) was the pick of the bowlers for Uttarakhand.
Gharami’s 186, Anustup’s 117 power Bengal to massive total
Sudip Gharami hogged the limelight for the second day running with a 186-run knock as Bengal reached 577 for five in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jharkhand in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The seasoned Anustup Majumdar helped himself to a century (117) before Manoj Tiwary, a sitting minister for youth affairs and sports in West Bengal, walked back unbeaten on 54 at the end of second day’s play at the Just Cricket Academy Ground.
Looking to accelerate the scoring rate, the 23-year-old Gharami’s stay in the middle ended with a contentious decision after which Bengal looked to nudge the ball around for ones and twos, rather than going for quick runs and declare their first innings.
There were no signs of urgency from Bengal and it remains to be seen how long do they bat on the third day.
There was no contact between the bat and the ball on its way to wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra on the leg side, but the umpire still adjudged Gharami out.
Gharami, who was 106 overnight, got out after scoring 186 off 380 balls, hitting 21 fours and a six during his long stay at the crease. The Gharami-Majumdar stand was worth 243 runs.
Opener Abhishek Raman, who retired hurt on 41 on the opening day, returned to make 61, while Abishek Porel, who was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning squad earlier this year, chipped in with a 111-ball 68, making full use of the opportunity he got after Wriddhiman Saha’s departure following differences with the Cricket Association of Bengal.
Anustup made his runs in 194 balls and found the fence 15 times, while former captain Tiwary, who has so far appeared in three Ranji finals and still dreams about winning the elusive title in the country’s premier domestic tournament, hit three fours and a six in his 146-ball undefeated knock.
Resuming the day on 310 for one, the duo of Gharami and Anustup added 65 runs before the latter fell to left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem’s bowling.
Jharkhand managed to get two more wickets before veteran Tiwary found an able ally in young Abishek Porel, the two adding 109 runs for the fifth wicket to prop up their team that is hoping to bat just once in the game.
Gharami, who had a highest score of 27 in his four previous appearances, once again showed fine temperament and impressive technique but was unlucky to miss out on what would have been a well-deserved double ton.
With this knock, Gharami, son of a labour contractor who would borrow money from relatives to buy him cricket equipment, reposed the faith shown in him by head coach Arun Lal.
Brief Scores: Bengal: 577/5 in 178 overs (Sudip Gharami 186, Anushtup Majumdar 117, Abhimanyu Easwaran 65, ABhishek Porel 68, Abhishek Raman 61, Manoj Tiwary batting 54) vs Jharkhand.
21 wickets tumble as Karnataka-UP QF hangs in balance
Uttar Pradesh bounced back after conceding a first innings lead against home favourites Karnataka as their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal hung in balance on a day 21 wickets tumbled in Alur on Tuesday. On a difficult KSCA pitch, left-arm orthodox spinner Saurabh Kumar (14-4-32-2) relied on his tight bowling to fox Karnataka, which collapsed to 100 for 8 after taking a healthy 98-run first innings lead.
The 29-year-old India A bowler, who returned with 4 for 73 in the first innings, was well-supported by Ankit Rajpoot (8-2-15-2) as Karnataka lost eight wickets in the final session.
At stumps, wicketkeeper-batter Srinivas Sharath was unbeaten on 10 as the match headed for an exciting third day with the home side taking an overall 198 runs lead with two wickets intact.
The Karnataka ‘Big Three’ — Mayank Agarwal (22), Karun Nair (10) and skipper Manish Pandey (4) — disappointed again leaving their second innings in disarray.
Indian Test opener Agarwal, who was ignored for the upcoming Edgbaston Test against England, batted with lot more positive intent and slammed five boundaries in his 29-ball knock before being dismissed by the left-arm spinner.
Rajpoot then dismissed Nair, while Pandey was run out by Karan Sharma as Karnataka suffered a middle-order collapse and lost six wickets for 33 runs.
Earlier, Karnataka were bundled out for 253 in the first innings with addition of 40 runs to their overnight total with Shreyas Gopal slamming a gritty unbeaten fifty.
Overnight 26, Gopal remained unbeaten on 56 from 80 balls (6×4, 2×6) which pushed their total past 250-mark.
In reply, Uttar Pradesh were skittled out for 155 inside 38 overs.
Ronit More (3/47) caused the maximum damage, while the trio of Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vidhwath Kaverappa and Krishnappa Gowtham claimed two apiece.
Gowtham claimed the wickets of Rinku Singh (33) and Saurabh in successive overs while they lost another in Prince Yadav (0) without any addition to the total.
At 92 for 8, UP were looking down the barrel but Shivam Mavi then showed his exploits with the bat, slamming 32 off 35 balls (3×4, 1×6) to take their total past 150-mark.
He along with Rajpoot (18 not out from 16 balls) shared 44 runs for the last wicket, a partnership that brightened their hopes before the bowlers put Karnataka on the backfoot.
With two wickets in hand, it’s up for the Karnataka lower-order to prop their overall lead for their spin duo of K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal to exploit the conditions.
Brief Scores Karnataka 253 (Shreyas Gopal 56 not out; Saurabh Kumar 4/73, Shivam Mavi 3/60) and 100/8 in 34 overs (Saurabh 3/32, Ankit Rajpoot 2/15).
Uttar Pradesh 155 in 37.3 overs (Priyam Garg 39, Rinku Singh 33; Ronit More 3/47).
MP in driver’s seat against Punjab
After a splendid show from their bowlers on the opening day, it was the turn of Madhya Pradesh batters, led by Shubham Sharma (102 not out), to respond strongly against Punjab on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal game in Alur on Tuesday.
Responding to Punjab’s 219 on what appears to be a lifeless pitch, MP rode on a strong start to their innings to reach 238 for 2 at stumps, a 19-run lead with eight first innings wickets in hand.
Both the openers, Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri frustrated the opposition bowlers.
With the pacers failing to get wickets, Punjab had to wait for leg-spinner Mayank Markande for the breakthrough. The 24-year-old did just that by dismissing Yash Dubey (20).
However, both Mantri and Shubham Sharma stitched a solid 120-run partnership for the second wicket to put MP in command against a toothless Punjab bowling attack.
The duo batted for close to 48 overs and inflicted maximum damage to the Punjab bowlers in the process.
As Markande came to Punjab’s rescue once again by removing Mantri (89), it was Sharma who continued with his brilliant and steady knock. The 28-year-old middle-order batsman slammed his sixth first class ton (102 not out), courtesy nine fours and a six, to put his side in command, with three days of play still to go.
For Punjab, the only consolation of the day was perhaps a tight bowling spell from Markande who also represented the Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.
rief Scores: Punjab: 219 all out in 71.3 overs (Abhishek Sharma 47, Anmolpreet Singh 47; Puneet Datey 3/48, Anubhav Agarwal 3/36).
Madhya Pradesh: 238/2 in 99 overs (Shubham Sharma 102 not out, Himanshu Mantri 89; Mayank Markande 2/70).
