Ranji Trophy quarterfinal: Saurashtra ends day three with slender lead over Punjab

Chirag Jani took a bit of time to settle in before forging a 78-run stand with captain Arpit Vasavada to ensure Saurashtra ended the third day’s play at 138-4.

FILE PHOTO: Saurashtra batter Arpit Vasavada in action. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/ The Hindu

Saurashtra was reeling at 60 for 4 in its second innings, when Chirag Jani (35 n.o., 103b, 3x4) walked out to bat.

He took a bit of time to settle in before forging a 78-run stand with captain Arpit Vasavada (44 n.o., 100b, 3x4) to ensure Saurashtra ended the third day’s play at 138-4, with a slender lead of 10 runs against Punjab in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal on Thursday.

After Mandeep Singh’s 91 (206b, 9x4, 1x6) guided Punjab to 431 in the first innings, left-arm spinner Vinay Choudhary (3 for 61) dominated the second session, as Saurashtra struggled to get going in its second essay.

Enjoying a crucial 128-run lead, Choudhary struck early as Harvik Desai poked at a delivery which spun away from him. The ball bounced sharply and was caught by Anmol Malhotra as Desai walked back without bothering the scorers. Vishvarajsinh Jadeja, too, fell soon. The home team needed a steady stand, but the seasoned Snell Patel, who looked set, was trapped leg before by Siddharth Kaul.

Sheldon Jackson - one of Saurashtra’s dependable middle-order batters - was caught behind by Malhotra off a Vinay delivery, shortly.

With Punjab tightening the noose, Saurashtra was still trailing by 63 runs and hopes were pinned on Vasavada and Jani, who did not disappoint. They took singles and twos and ensured there were no further dents. After the initial wickets, the Punjab bowling department failed to keep the momentum going, thus allowing the Saurashtra batters to bounce back.

However, the visiting team would be disappointed to have missed out on an opportunity as Jani was dropped on 24 by Naman Dhir at slip.

Earlier in the day, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja claimed a fifer (5 for 109) to restrict Punjab well behind the 450-run mark. Resuming the day at 327-5, captain Mandeep stood firm, even though wickets tumbled at the other end with Dharmendrasinh and Parth Bhut (3 for 114) making the most of the surface.

Prerak Mankad, anticipating Mandeep’s paddle sweep off a Jadeja delivery, moved from his station at first slip. With a dive to his left, Mankad ensured the ball stuck to his left hand, thus dashing the Punjab captain’s hopes of a ton.

Soon after, Punjab lost two more wickets of Vinay Chaudhary and Baltej Singh.