Ranji Trophy Plate Group: Gurinder Singh shines for Meghalaya

Gurinder Singh scores a half-century and takes five wickets to give Meghalaya the upper hand over Manipur.

Gurinder Singh's five wickets helped restrict Manipur to 125 for eight at stumps. Representative Image: Getty Images

Gurinder Singh’s all-round performance helped Meghalaya gain the upper hand over Manipur in a Ranji Trophy Plate Group fixture at the Jadavpur University’s Salt Lake Campus ground in Kolkata on Thursday.

After scoring 55, left-arm spinner Gurinder took 5 for 21 to restrict Manipur to 125 for 8 at stumps on the second day. This was after opener Raj Biswa (87) and Puneet Bisht (92) struck half-centuries to help Meghalaya reach 326. Skipper Yashpal Singh waged a lone battle with an unbeaten 69 in Manipur’s second innings.

Maiden double for Kartik Joshi

At the DN Singha Stadium in Goalpara, Assam, Kartik Joshi’s maiden first-class double century helped Uttarakhand — the top team in Plate Group — remain on course for a fourth successive win against Arunachal Pradesh. After bundling out Arunachal Pradesh for a paltry 105 on Day One, Uttarakhand had the home side at 98 for 2 at close of play on Day Two. Uttarakhand will be eyeing a third bonus-point victory as Arunachal Pradesh still trails by 267 runs with eight wickets in hand.

Read | Plate Group Day One round-up

Playing in his third first-class match, the 22-year-old Joshi slammed an unbeaten 208 from 308 balls. Skipper Rajat Bhatia struck a brisk 152 not out from 142 balls and helped the side declare its first innings closed at 470 for 4.

Batting on 99 overnight, Joshi showed fine composure to get to his first century before his skipper Bhatia joined the party.

In Puducherry, heavy rain forced the cancellation of play. The home team had the edge over Mizoram in the contest.

• In Kolkata: Manipur 211 and 125 for 8 (Yashpal Singh 69, Gurinder Singh 5 for 21) leads Meghalaya 326 (Puneet Bisht 92, Raj Biswa 87, Gurinder Singh 55, Kabrambam Meitei 3 for 27) by 10 runs.
• In Goalpara: Arunachal Pradesh 105 and 98 for 2 (Samarth Seth 60) trails Uttarakhand 470 for 4 declared (Kartik Joshi 208 n.o., Rajat Bhatia 152, Vaibhav Panwar 59) by 267 runs.
• In Puducherry: Puducherry 163 for 3 (M Viknesh 79 n.o.) vs Mizoram 92
• In Patna: Bihar 288 and 150 for 4 (M. D. Rahmatullah 66, Milind Kumar 3 for 39) leads Sikkim 81 (Ashutosh Aman 5 for 19) by 357 runs.