An unbeaten century (125 batting, 214b, 11x4, 2x6) from Jaymeet Patel helped Gujarat recover from 55 for four to end day one on 321 for seven in the Group-B match versus TNCA President’s XI in the third round of the Buchi Babu tournament at the Salem Cricket Foundation (SCF) ground here on Tuesday.
TNCA skipper and left-arm spinner M. Siddharth picked up four wickets before lunch. With the ball turning in the first session itself, Siddharth’s pace and the nervousness caused by the close-in fielders proved too much for his victims.
Opener Priyank Panchal (7), Aditya Patel (21), and Gujarat captain Umang Rohitkumar (duck) were all dismissed offering forward defence. Siddharth turned it past Priyank’s outside edge to get him bowled, and had Aditya and Umang edge to Radhakrishnan at slip and Andre Siddarth at short leg.
Sunpreetsingh Bagga (duck), beaten by pace, was late on his backfoot cut for Radhakrishnan to take a sharp low catch at slip.
Jaymeet, who came in at No.6, and Kshitij Patel (62, 106b, 7x4), then, bailed out Gujarat with a 73-run fifth-wicket partnership.
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Kshitij hit all his boundaries on the backfoot. He played the leg glance to fine leg boundary and thrice cut to the square boundary for four fours off left-arm spinner P. Vignesh. There was a late cut behind square and a whip off his pads to the square leg boundary for two fours off Mohamed Ali’s off-spin. He also pulled to deep midwicket for a four off leg-spinner Radhakrishnan. But he was eventually trapped plumb in front on his backfoot - beaten by pace, he was late on his block to Vignesh.
Thereafter, Jaymeet and Urvil Patel (33) strung together a 70-run sixth-wicket stand, which was broken when the latter was run out at the non-striker’s end after being sent back. Vimal Khumar’s sharp throw from short midwicket helped bowler Siddharth break the stumps.
Jaymeet hit a straight six off leg-spinner Jhathavedh Subramanyan and charged at Vignesh for a six towards long on. The left-hander cut and then edged Vignesh for back-to-back fours behind square. He also hit four fours off pacer Mohammed - two glorious cover drives on the front and back foot, two flicks to square leg and midwicket.
In the 83rd over, when the new ball was taken, Dhrushant Soni (44) was dropped on 44 by Radhakrishnan at slip off Siddharth. But Siddharth had him LBW in his next over to complete his five-wicket haul (five for 74).
Jaymeet and Dhrushant added 101 runs for the seventh-wicket union.
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