Ranji Trophy Quarterfinals Day 2 Highlights: Shreyas Gopal hits 100 as Karnataka leads by 358; Punjab takes first innings lead vs Saurashtra

That’s the end of second day. Aditya Shrivastava finishes the day with night watchman Anubhav Agarwal. Andhra with bragging rights on the day that was highlighted by Hanuma Vihari braving a wrist fracture and batting left-handed. Andhra has an advantage of 235 runs.

Shubham Sharma departs after scoring a fifty.

Gopal reaches the milestone. His fifth First Class century. 13 fours and one six in his innings. Karnataka 474/5 and a lead of 358 runs. And that’s Stumps on Day 2.

Punjab ends the second day with a lead of 24 runs. After a streak of wickets in the final session, captain Mandeep Singh steadied the ship for the side along with Anmol Malhotra. Saurashtra spinners have found life for them on the pitch and they’ll look to expolit that on Day 3.

Karnataka holds an advantage of 341 runs. Shreyas Gopal needs 10 more to complete a century. B.R. Sharath is keeping him company, batting on 19.

Shubham Sharma continues to collect runs for Madhya Pradesh. He is just 14 short of a half century. Aditya Shrivastava has proceeded with caution during his stay and is batting on 11 off 20 deliveries. Trail still at 260 runs.

Abishek Porel with four boudaries has boosted the team’s pace of scoring runs. The partnership between him and Shahbaz Ahmad is now worth 31 runs. Leads by 65 runs at the end of Day 2.

Rajat Patidar is dismissed by Nithish Kumar Reddy.

Punjab draws level with Saurashtra in first innings. Mandeep Singh is unbeaten on 28 off 90 and is supported by Anmol Malhotra. The loss of wickets in the last hour has slowed down the runs but Punjab still on course for a hug first-innings lead.

Manish Pandey is gone! He is the first batter to be dismissed before reaching his fifty. Shreyas Gopal is still batting on 69 off 99 and is joined by B.R. Sharath. The lead is 299 runs.

Anustup Majumdar departs! Anukul Roy disturbs his stumps and that’s half the Bengal side back in the pavilion. The lead is 39 runs as Abishek Porel walks out to bat.

Another wicket! Nehal Wadhera goes for 4. He steps out and looks to work the ball on the on side. All he manages is a simple scoop to short midwicket.

Anmolpreet Singh falls. The delivery was short from Yuvrajsinh and Anmolpreet made room and played a cut shot. He connected of the toe end of the bat and the ball flew to Jadeja at point. Trails by 16.

Andhra has tightened the noose on Madhya Pradesh with the two quick wickets. Going at five runs per over once, MP’s run rate has now dropped below three. Rajat Patidar and Shubham Sharma batting for MP and it seems they’re prioritizing not losing their wickets over runs.

Skipper Manoj Tiwary is dismissed. Supriyo Chakraborty with his second wicket to get Tiwary leg before. Shahbaz Ahmed is the new batter in. Bengal leads by 14 runs.

Shreyas Gopal brings up his fifty, the fifth Karnataka batter to do it. He has hit eight fours and one six. The lead for his team is at 267.

Naman Dhir is gone! Dharmendrasinh strikes in the new session. Dhir went to clear the ball over the long on boundary and connected well. Yuvrajsinh was stationed at the fence and he dashed to his right to collect the catch on the run. Dhir falls on 131 with his team trailing by 37 runs.

Parity for Bengal comes in the 61st over. The runs, however, are coming at a trickle since the two wickets. Manoj Tiwary on 6 off 36 and Anustup Majumdar on 15 off 42. It has seven wickets now to build an unassailable lead.

Surprisingly, Shreyas Gopal (33 off 55) has been the aggressor while Manish Pandey (20 off 42) has held one end up in this 60-run stand off 87 balls. Karnataka leads by 251 runs.

Punjab scored 112 runs in the post-lunch session and lost two wickets before Naman Dhir scored his second first-class century. While the visiting team is at 264-2 - still trailing by 39 runs - the onus is now on the settled Dhir (130 not out, 178b) and captain Mandeep Singh (7 not out, 40b) to ensure that there are no further slip-ups.

Prabhsimran Singh, who scored his third first-class hundred (126, 158b) forged an opening partnership of 212 runs with Dhir before Parth Bhut got the breakthrough. Attempting a slog sweep, Prabhsimran got a top edge, and Chetan Sakariya made no mistake at the long on. As a dejected Prabhsimran walked back, his stupendous innings earned him a standing ovation from the team-mates.

Punjab lost its second wicket quickly as debutant Pukhraj Mann, coming in for Abhishek Sharma, fell for a solitary run. Surprised by the extra bounce of a Yuvrajsinh Dodiya delivery, the youngster was caught at silly point by Snell Patel.

But Dhir stood firm and scored his century and forged a partnership with captain Mandeep.

-Shayan Acharya

Change of ends and Prithvi Raj Yarra removes Himanshu Mantri with a short ball. A tame pull and Lalith Mohan completes a superb catch while running to his left from mid-on. Rajat Patidar walks in at 4.

- Lalith Kalidas

A fifty-run partnership is up between Manish Pandey and Shreyas Gopal off 73 balls. Padikkal and Jose fell in quick succession but these two have stemmed the flow of wickets. Karnataka now leads by 243 runs.

Bengal added 77 runs while losing two wickets in the middle session. Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Gharami were the wickets to fall. Bengal two runs away from Jharkhand’s total of 173.

Shreyas Gopal has struck four fours and is batting at a strike rate of 60 plus. Manish Pandey has been relatively quite and has managed just 11 off 25 deliveries. The lead has balloned to 223.

Himanshu Mantri and Yash Dubey get their side off to a solid start. Both have struck two fours each and the run rate has stayed above 5 rpo. Still a mountain to climb with a deficit at 347.

Naman Dhir completes the hundred. The second centurion of the innings. Saurashtra gets a second wicket. Pukhraj Mann has to walk back on just one run. Yuvrajsinh Dodiya with the wicket. Trails by 74 runs.

Both set batters gone! Supriyo Chakraborty gets the wicket of Abhimanyu Easwaran. Captain Manoj Tiwary walks out in the middle. Trails by 14 runs.

Mayank Mishra does the trick for Uttarakhand. He gets the two set batters out. Padikkal falls on 69 while Nikin Jose goes on 62. Manish Pandey and Shreyas Gopal are the new men in the middle as the lead is just eight short of 200.

Sudip Gharami falls on 68. He is foxed by Shahbaz Nadeem. The deficit is down to 17 runs as Anustup Majumdar walks to the middle. Easwaran batting on 77.

Parth Bhut gets the breakthrough! Prabhsimran going for a slog sweep but gets a top edge. Long on fielder makes no mistake and Saurashtra finally has something to smile about. Prabhsimran goes for 126 off 158. A stupendous innings.

Hanuma Vihari is dismissed. Tapped leg before by Saransh Jain and that is the end of the innings. Slightly underwhelming, given the control that Bhui and Shinde had put the side in. Madhya Pradesh’s response to begin soon.

Naman Dhir has been the aggressor in the second session. He’s made his way to 79 with six fours and four sixes. The team’s deficit is at 114 runs.

Devdutt Padikkal completes his fifty. He’s 52 off 90 at the moment and the lead has shot up to 168 runs. The partnership between Padikkal and Nikin Jose worth more than 100 now.

Sudip Gharami now brings up his fifty and Bengal motors on. The deficit is down to 54 runs and should be covered in this session. Easwaran batting on 61.

Hanuma Vihari, with a steely resolve, scores 10 off 19 balls after coming in to bat with a fractured wrist. He bats left-handed and even manages to slash a delivery from Avesh Khan to the boundary and sweep Kumar Kartikeya for four. Lalith Mohan has looked to hog the strike and is unbeaten on 22 off 48.

After Mayank Agarwal and R. Samarth fell in quick succession, Uttarakhand would have believed they had got a foothold. But Devdutt Padikkal and Nikin Jose have dashed those hopes with an 88-run stand. Jose on 56 off 72 while Padikkal unbeaten on 44 off 81. Karnataka leads by 154 runs.

Prabhsimran Singh scored his third first-class hundred (102 not out, 118b) to guide Punjab to 152-0 at lunch on Day Two of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals against Saurashtra.

On a surface that had little help for the bowlers, Prabhsimran forged a 152-run opening stand with the young Naman Dhir, who scored 50 off 86 deliveries to ensure that Punjab dominated the session.

Resuming the day at 3-0, both Prabhsimran and Dhir came out with an aggressive mindset and played quality shots to put the pressure on the Saurashtra bowlers. In the absence of Jaydev Unadkat, Chirag Jani and Chetan Sakariya failed to make an impact as Prabhsimran cut and drove fluently.

Initially, Prabhsimran hit a flurry of boundaries, while Dhir held fort at the other end. But as the day progressed, he also stepped up and hit four boundaries and a couple of sixes to put his team in the driver’s seat.

Saurashtra had pinned its hopes on Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, but the seasoned campaigner failed to make a mark as Prabhsimran hammered him for fours at will.

The 22-year-old Prabhsimran started his Ranji Trophy campaign this season with a 202 against Chandigarh and scored 55 against Tripura in the third game. Thereafter, he had scores of 43, 4, 20, 31, 13. But he delivered when it mattered most for his team.

- Shayan Acharya

Avesh Khan finally gets a wicket as Prithvi Raj Yarra for 2. Andhra now has lost seven wickets for 30 runs. A precipitous collapse this!

Easwaran (52 off 95) and Gharami (37 off 67) have taken Bengal to a comfortable position in the first session. Bengal only 79 runs behind now and closing in on that first-innings lead.

Two wickets in successive overs for Madhya Pradesh. Anubhav Agarwal traps KV Sasikanth lbw for his fourth while Ashwin Hebbar holes out to mid-on off Kumar Kartikeya. A collapse for Andhra in the second hour of the session.

- Lalith Kalidas

Prabhsimran gets to the three-figure mark in 111 balls while Naman Dhir is on 46 off 75. They have trimmed Saurashtra’s lead to 157 and the openers will hope to go into Lunch without losing a wicket.

Devdutt Padikkal (40) and Nikin Jose (40) have added 68 runs for the third wicket and ensured a collapse doesn’t follow the dismissals of the openers. Jose has been the aggressor, getting to his 40 in just 52 balls while Padikkal has taken 65 to get there.

Anubhav Agarwal gets Sasikanth lbw for a duck and Andhra loses its seventh wicket. Fourth scalp for Anubhav and Andhra has now lost its last five wickets for 21 runs.

Sudip Gharami and Abhimanyu Easwaran have led Bengal’s recovery after losing an early wicket. They have added 73 runs in 111 balls and Bengal now trails by 89 runs.

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Prabhsimran Singh is cruising towards his hundred (80 off 85) while Naman Dhir (37 off 49) is lending able support. Punjab now just 185 runs behind.

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R. Samarth follows his captain to the dugout as he falls for 82. Abhay Negi gets his second wicket. Nikin Jose joins Devdutt Padikkal.

Prabhsimran gets to his fifty (51 off 53) while Naman Dhir has played second fidlde with a measured 22 off 37. Punjab with a strong reply, trails by 230 runs.

Mayank Agarwal has to walk back for 83 off 109 as Abhay Negi strikes for Uttarakhand. Devdutt Padikkal joins Samarth, who is on 72.

A 150-run partnership between Mayank Agarwal and R. Samarth has floored Uttarakhand. Mayank is nearing his hundred, batting on 83 off 108 currently. Samarth on 72 off 92.

Solid start from Prabhsimran Singh and Naman Dhir. Sakariya had troubled the batters initially but they seem to have settled in a bit. Three fours so far in the innings.

Kazi Saifi’s woeful innings comes to an end as he is trapped in front by Ashish Kumar. The bowler came around the wicket and angled the ball into the left-hander, who missed while trying to flick on leg-side.

Saifi and Easwaran have chosen to tread the path of caution despite pursuing a paltry total of 173. Saifi took 15 balls to get off the mark while Easwaran is unbeaten on 7 off 27.

Replacing Ravindra Jadeja, who is on national duty, Bhut stamped his class as he played fearless cricket, emulating his ‘idol’ Jadeja. Though he had to sit out for Saurashtra’s last game against Tamil Nadu and make way for Jadeja, he learned a lot from the India international.

Kazi Junaid Saifi and Abhimanyu Easwaran start of Bengal’s innings. Ashish Kumar has the new ball. Jharkhand only managed 173 yesterday and Bengal will first look to secure a first-innings lead and then build on it.

Parth Bhut walked out to bat when Saurashtra was reeling at 147 for 7. To make matters worse, the team lost another wicket - of Snell Patel (70, 131b, 11x4) - even before Bhut could settle down.

But the 24-year-old from Junagadh kept his calm, showed intent and went on to score his maiden first-class century (111 n.o., 155b, 11x4, 4x6), guiding Saurashtra to 303 against Punjab in a Ranji Trophy quarterfinals clash at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday.

-Shayan Acharya

Ricky Bhui’s 14th First-Class hundred ensured a commanding start for Andhra on Day 1 of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Tuesday.

Captain Hanuma Vihari’s injury notwithstanding, a measured 190-run unbeaten partnership between Bhui (115 batting) and Karan Shinde (83 batting) placed Andhra on 262 for two at stumps.

-Lalith Kalidas

Kumar Suraj (89 n.o., 175b, 9x4) stood firm amidst challenges to score an unbeaten half-century and help Jharkhand put up 173 in its first innings on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Bengal at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Jharkhand struggled against Bengal’s competent pace quartet, in the absence of Saurabh Tiwary, who twisted his ankle during morning practice.

-Y.B. Sarangi

Speedster M. Venkatesh capped his First Class debut with a fine five-wicket haul (14-3-36-5) as Karnataka established a stranglehold on Uttarakhand on day one of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

Venkatesh found a place in the eleven only because V. Koushik was diagnosed with a back spasm on the morning of the match. But the pacer from Mysuru, who hails from a family with a deep interest in Carnatic classical music and also dabbled in it when young, buzzed around all innings to help dismiss Uttarakhand for a paltry 116.

By stumps, Karnataka openers R. Samarth (54 batting, 74b, 7x4) and Mayank Agarwal (65 batting, 86b, 9x4, 1x6) had wiped out Uttarakhand’s total and secured a seven-run lead.

N. Sudarshan

When to watch Ranji Trophy 2022/23?

Ranji Trophy quarterfinals will start from Tuesday, January 31 from 9:30 AM IST.

Where to watch Ranji Trophy 2022/23 on TV?

A select number of tournament matches are being telecast on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD. The telecast also provides updates and scores from all matches at regular intervals.

Where to live stream Ranji Trophy 2022/23?

The streaming of the Ranji Trophy matches will be available on Disney+ Hotstar app.