Even though Hyderabad chalked up a mammoth 410, Rajasthan somehow managed to cut the Gordian knot, claim the first-innings lead and thereby confirming all but three points from the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here.
On day three, Mahipal Lomror and later debutant Shubham Garhwal scored individual hundreds on a wicket that didn’t have much to offer.
Lomror, who also managed to cross 3,000 First Class runs on Friday, cut and dabbed length deliveries with elan by effectively shifting his weight onto the backfoot on multiple occasions.
A pall of doom had descended over the Rajasthan dugout when the 24-year-old took his eyes off the ball in the 60th over in an effort to pull a surprise bouncer from Rakshan Readdi into the stands. Glovesman Rahul Radesh, safe as houses, gobbled up the faintest of feathers.
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Earlier, left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan turned the ball away just enough to kiss the off-stump and snap a century stand by sending Abhijeet Tomar back. Skipper Deepak Hooda, who joined Lomror, scored only a run before he was sent packing by Chama Milind.
Zubair Khan got a raw deal – adjudged lbw despite getting a big, fat inside edge onto the pads – after scoring a fifty.
Garhwal, meanwhile, got his team within touching distance of the visitor’s first innings total despite sustaining a freak injury to his leg. The southpaw, who breathed life into the Rajasthan innings despite taking a nasty tumble while running, stood tall in the last session, taking the aerial route whenever an opportunity presented.
When Garhwal fell, Rajasthan still needed 36 runs to level the innings tally. That is when Arafat Khan and Kookna Ajay Singh showed they weren’t here to merely make up the numbers.
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