Welcome to Sportstar 's coverage of the day 2 of the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal between Jharkhand and Nagaland from Kolkata.
STUMPS: Jharkhand 769/9 in 177 overs - Nadeem 123*, Shukla 29*
Y.B. Sarangi: Jharkhand 702/9 in 159 overs at tea. Shahbaz Nadeem batting on 87 with last man Rahul Shukla (0). Kushagra got out on 266, trying a big hit off Kense. He stood for another century stand with Nadeem. Kense and Lemtur got three wickets apiece
Jharkhand 655/8 in 141.5 overs: WICKET! Kushagra falls for 266! Khrievitso finds the breakthrough at long last as a rash slog from Kushagra takes the leading edge straight to backward point. A phenomenal knock comes to an end. Khrievitso gets another WICKET as he foxes the new man Mishra with a sharp googly.
Y.B. Sarangi: Jharkhand piling on runs without any problem. They are at 634/6 in 136 overs. Kushagra crossed another landmark (251) and Nadeem (44) is closer to one. Nagaland bowling has become wayward again after the first hour.
Jharkhand 633/6 in 135.4 overs: Kumar Kushagra brings up his 250 off just 252 balls. He is 50 away from being the youngest-ever triple centurion in first-class cricket!
Kushagra and Shahbaz Nadeem resume batting after Lunch.
Tune in to all the updates from the ongoing Ranji Trophy season on our cricket podcast - Matchpoint Paradox
Lunch | Y.B. Sarangi Jharkhand 542/6 in 122 overs. Kushagra turned his maiden century to a double hundred and is batting on 201. Shahbaz Nadeem is on 12. Anukul Roy (59) was the only wicket to fall. He was caught behind off Lemtur.
Jharkhand 542/2 in 122 overs: 17-year-old Kumar Kushagra converts his maiden first-class ton into a double century! He moves to 201* off 216 balls with 27 fours and a six to his name.
Jharkhand 489/6 in 109 overs: Anukul Roy departs after a solid 59. Imliwati finds the breakthrough as Roy holes out to Chetan Bist.
Y.B. Sarangi | Jharkhand 456/5 in 104 overs at drinks in day two. Kumar Kushagra 137 batting, Anukul Roy 49 batting. The overnight duo added 54 runs in one hour and 15 minutes of play in the morning. Nagaland bowlers were slightly tidier but fielding remained a matter of concern. They leaked runs and did not take chances. Anukul gets his 50 after drinks.
Jharkhand 450/5 in 103 overs: Kumar Kushagra (137*) and Anukul Roy (43*) continue to plunder quick runs and make things tougher for Nagaland by each passing minute.
Kumar Kushagra and Anukul Roy resume batting. A massive first-innings total is indeed the target for Jharkhand.
Day 1 recap
Virat Singh and Kumar Kushagra’s excellent centuries took Jharkhand to a comfortable position against Nagaland on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Inserted in, Jharkhand exploited the Nagaland bowlers’ lack of discipline to cruise to a formidable 402 for five and looked forward to posting a massive aggregate to gain more ground.
Nagaland’s poor fielding, highlighted by the dropped catches and overthrows, also helped Jharkhand.
Jharkhand was off to a good start, scoring 60 for one in the first hour, as the Nagaland new ball bowlers could not make the most of the movement on offer from the surface early in the morning.
READ:
Chopsie Hopongkyu provided the breakthrough as Nazim Siddiqui (28) edged one to the keeper in the 14 over.
Shrikant Mundhe had Utkarsh Singh (36) caught at first slip in the next over.
However, Nagaland’s joy was short-lived as Kumar Suraj (66, 91b, 11x4, 1x6) and captain Saurabh Tiwary (29) added 62 runs to strengthen Jharkhand’s position.
Tiwary was trapped in front by his opposite number Rongsen Jonathon.
Suraj, who found the gaps nicely, gathered 60 more with Virat before being adjudged lbw off leg-spinner Khirevitso Kense.
Nagaland relied on the variety in its attack, but suffered due to the absence of consistency in line and length from its bowlers.
The left-right combination of Virat (107, 155b, 13x4) and Kushagra (112 batting, 111b, 16x4, 1x6) scored at a faster rate. They played some good looking shots while building a substantial partnership of 175 runs in only 213 deliveries.
ALSO READ:
The fifth wicket partnership gave Jharkhand a firm control over the match.
Virat drove and cut beautifully on his way to his fifth hundred before being held at the first slip off left-arm spinner Imliwati Lemtur.
Playing his third match, 17-year-old Kushagra, who got a ‘life’ on 10, excelled with his impeccable timing and placement. The wicketkeeper-batsman unleashed some fine shots, including a few flowing drives, on either side of the wicket and brought up his hundred with a pulled four.
He remained unbeaten with Anukul Roy (21) at the end of the day’s play.
- Y.B. Sarangi
Who have made the quarterfinals
RELATED
Comments
SHARE