A round-up of the third day of the second round of matches in the Plate League of the Ranji Trophy
ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010Group AMadhya Pradesh crushed Tripura by an innings and 156 runs in Gwalior. Beginning the day 30 behind Tripura, MP’s batsmen, led by 26-year-old Monish Mishra’s unbeaten 154, piled on 506 for 7 – getting a first-innings lead of 251 before declaring. Their new-ball bowlers, former ICL player TP Siudhindra and debutant Amit Sharma, then skittled Tripura out for 95 in just 21 overs. The pair bowled unchanged through the innings as Tripura folded – Sudhindra had career-best figures of 6 for 49 to complete a maiden ten-wicket match haul, while Amit took the remaining four. Madhya Pradesh now have one win and a draw from two games to top the table, while Tripura have lost both their opening matches.Hyderabad had another good day in Ranchi against Jharkhand. Overnight batsman Ibrahim Khaleel made his highest first-class score of 141, due to which though Hyderabad lost their final four wickets for 22, they finished with 492, a big first-innings lead of 292. Jharkhand’s reply began poorly, losing both openers cheaply, but their main batsman, Saurabh Tiwary, and Ishank Jaggi then put on 72 for the third wicket to take the home side to 102 for 2 at stumps.In Jaipur, Rajasthan took complete control of their match against Goa. Rashmi Parida, the 33-year-old former Orissa player, made 91 patient runs, adding 88 with Vaibhav Deshpande, who is making a comeback after two years on the sidelines. That took Rajasthan to 392 for 4, a first-innings advantage of 176, before his side suffered a collapse – losing four wickets for 16. However, an 82-run partnership for the final wicket between Parida and Pankaj Sharma, who slammed five sixes in a whirlwind 57, pushed Rajasthan to 490. Goa’s only hope is that their batsmen manage to bat out the entire final day to salvage a point.Group BJammu & Kashmir lurched towards defeat against Kerala in Malappuram despite fast bowler Abid Nabi’s sixth five-wicket haul. Both overnight batsmen, VA Jagadeesh and Robert Fernandez, made centuries as Kerala galloped to 263 for 1 setting their team up for a big first-innings lead. Though Nabi’s strikes meant J&K removed Kerala’s final eight wickets for 65, they were still trailing by 220 runs. The batting which had been so feeble in the first innings, had stuttered to 59 for 3 by stumps, and needing a gutsy effort if J&K are to escape with a draw.In an exciting day in Nasik, Vidarbha sneaked a 15-run first-innings lead against Maharashtra, thanks to their key fast bowler, Umesh Yadav, taking a career-best 7 for 74. Maharashtra looked set to get the crucial lead when their captain Rohit Motwani guided them to 265 for 7, just 22 short of Vidarbha’s total, before they lost their final three wickets for seven runs. They had had a collapse at the start of the innings as well, slumping to 85 for 6 against the pace of Umesh, before Motwani put on two stabilising partnerships. Vidharbha ended the day on a shaky 14 for 2, and their batsmen still have some work to do before the three points are safe.Andhra first took a slim first-innings lead and then consolidated their advantage through B Sumanth’s unbeaten century against Services in Anantapur. In the morning session, quick bowler Syed Sahabuddin took the final two wickets to ensure Andhra held the edge with an 18-run cushion. However, Andhra were soon in trouble as Services’ new-ball bowlers reduced them to 17 for 3, before Sumanth and AG Pradeep put the match back in Andhra’s control with an unbroken 158-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
