Ranji Trophy: Aniket, Shubham put Rajasthan in command

Rajasthan grabbed a crucial 51-run first innings lead after bowling out Andhra for 224. At stumps on the second day, Rajasthan extended the lead to 148 runs after scoring 97 for two in the second innings.

Aniket Choudhary (4/40) spearheaded the attack to help Rajasthan gain a 51-run first-innings lead against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy cricket match at the KCA- St.Xavier's College ground in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

Andhra tailender K.V.Sasikanth took on Rajasthan's best bowlers — Aniket Choudhary and Shubham Singh — to score a quick 34 but it came a bit too late as Rajasthan took control of the Ranji Trophy Group E encounter at the KCA-St.Xavier's College ground here on Friday.

Sasikanth's carefree innings was in sharp contrast to the timidity shown by Andhra's top-order batters who allowed Rajasthan bowlers to dominate them. Rajasthan grabbed a crucial 51-run first innings lead after bowling out Andhra for 224.

At stumps on the second day, Rajasthan is 148 runs ahead with a score of 97 for two in the second innings. Mahipal Lomror (45 batting) and Aditya Gharwal (35 batting) added 53 runs for the third-wicket after the openers perished cheaply.

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While Lomror dropped anchor, Aditya counter-attacked as the third-wicket pair increased Rajasthan's lead. To compound Andhra's woes, Aditya was given a reprieve twice.

Earlier in the morning, Rajasthan medium pacers Aniket Choudhary and Tanveer Haq zipped the ball around under helpful conditions. Manish , the night watchman, fell early to Aniket but Girinath and Ricky Bhui survived the testing opening hour.

Shubham Singh took 3-69 against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy cricket match at the KCA- St.Xavier's College ground on Friday.

 

It was Tanveer Haq's twin strikes in the 49th over which derailed the Andhra innings.  Tanveer had Ricky Bhui  caught in the slips by Aditya Garhwal off a lifter. In the next ball, skipper Bharath shouldered arms to an incoming delivery. Aniket then scalped the watchful Girinath (71) to leave Andhra tottering at 147 for six. Once the sun came out, the dry surface offered enough help for spinners.

Ranji Trophy: Round 1, Day 2 Highlights

Both Shubham Singh and Manav Sutha varied their length and pace to confuse the Andhra batters. The  duo dried up runs and induced false strokes from Andhra's lower-order batters. Andhra slumped to 180 for nine but Sasikanth and Stephen figured in an enterprising 44-run last wicket stand to bring respectability to the total.

Scorecard

Rajasthan - First innings: 275

Andhra - First Innings: Gnaneshwar c Aditya b Aniket 1, U.M.S.Girinath c Aditya b Aniket 71 , Karan Shinde c Aditya b Aniket 23, Manish Golamaru b Aniket 7, Ricky Bhui c Aditya b Tanveer 18, K.S.Bharat lbw Tanveer 0, Y. Sandeep lbw Shubham 25, P. Tapaswi c Bishnoi b Shubham 16, K.V.Sasikanth b Aniket 34, T.Vijay c & b Manish 0, C.H.Stephen not out 14;

Extras (b 8, lb 6 w 1) 15; Total (all out in 86.2 overs): 224; Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-58, 3-84, 4-118, 5-118, 6-147, 7-171, 8-178, 9-180

Rajasthan bowling: Aniket 18-6-40-4, Tanveer 17-5-41-2, Shubham 23-3-69-3, Manav 15-7-28-1, Anirudh 11-3-23-0, Lomror 1-0-5-0, Kothari 1-0-4-0

Rajasthan -Second innings: Yash Kothari lbw Sasikanth 3, Manender Singh c Vijay b Manish 7, Mahipal Lomror batting 45, Aditya Garhwal batting 35;

Extras (lb 6 nb 1):7; Total ( for two wickets in 31 overs): 97; Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-44

Andhra bowling: Stephen 8-1-22-0, Sasikanth 8-4-10-1, Vijay 7-0-27-0, Manish 8-0-32-1.