Ranji Trophy Highlights, Semifinals Day 2: Madhya Pradesh struggles against Bengal; Agarwal puts Karnataka in control vs Saurashtra
Follow for all HIGHLIGHTS from Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy semifinals.
Updated : Feb 09, 2023 17:19 IST
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Mayank Agarwal celebrates his double century. | Photo Credit: SHAILENDRA BHOJAK/PTI
Follow for all HIGHLIGHTS from Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy semifinals.
Karnataka - 407 vs Saurashtra - 76/2 in 30 overs
Bengal - 438 vs Madhya Pradesh - 56/2 in 28 overs
Krishnappa Gowtham with the last over of the day. Again, the full quota of 90 overs hasn’t been met - at least 11 short today. Will that prove to be costly for either of these sides? Only time will tell as Saurashtra ends Day 2 on 76-2, trailing host Karnataka by 332 runs.
The limelight will remain solely with Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal, whose magnificent 249 has put his side in control of this semifinal.
Karnataka in control at the end of day two. Harvik Desai struggled but has survived the day. Sheldon Jackson has looked the most comfortable batter out there. But he was lucky in that Samarth dropped a sitter at slip off Koushik when on 23.
N SUDARSHAN
56 runs came in the last session for Madhya Pradesh but the day has gone Bengal’s way as it dominated MP in the game till now. MP will look to bat long tomorrow but things will be adverse for the hosts as Manoj Tiwary-led Bengal will eye to bowl out Pandit’s men. Madhya Pradesh is 56 for two after the second day of play. Saransh Jain 17 (29) Anubhav Agarwal 4 (8)
Harvik Desai finally breaks free with a couple of boundaries against Vyshak. New batter Sheldon Jackson has settled down quickly getting a few boundaries for himself.
Things are looking better for Saurashtra now and if it can see off the last few overs of the day, it stands a good chance to catch up with Karnataka in this game.
Saransh Jain has been promoted to bat at number three as Shubham Sharma injured his fingers while fielding, and he scored 16 runs for the second wicket before Himanshu Mantri threw his wicket, with a lapse in concentration on the last delivery of the 25th over. Ishan bowled a short ball which Mantri tried to register over the mid-wicket but it went straight to Majumdar who made no mistake to complete the catch. MP is in trouble as the second nightwatchman, Anubhav Agarwal walks in the middle to join Saransh Jain. Mantri c A Majumdar b Ishan Porel 23(87) [4s-1]
Kaverappa strikes!! Jadeja’s resilience finally breaks as the Karnataka pacer sneaks one through. Saurashtra loses its second with under an hour on the clock.
Vishvaraj Jadeja b Kaverappa 22 (44b 4x4 0x6 )
The drinks break seems to have done the trick for Bengal here as Akash Deep bowls a wonderful seamed-up delivery which deviates a bit in the air and goes to the keeper after taking an outside edge from Yash Dubey’s bat. Brilliant ball from Akash Deep. Yash Dubey c Abishek Porel b Akash Deep 12(44) [4s-2]
Madhya Pradesh 27/2 in 17.3 overs vs Bengal
V Koushik has bowled seven straight maidens. A couple of close leg before shouts against Harvik Desai. Unlucky not to have gotten a wicket.
N SUDARSHAN
Madhya Pradesh openers have opted for a defensive approach as the duo has played 90 balls but only scored 21 runs together. Bengal has been good to control the flow of runs, as it gave only 13 runs in the last 10 overs. Mukesh, Shahbaz and Akash Deep have all bowled in good areas making it difficult for batters to score. Pradipta Pramanik used the rough and bowled in the right areas, where the ball spun sharply but both Mantri and Dubey hangs in the middle.
Karnataka bowlers, inspired by their skipper, have started on full throttle, providing no breathing room for the Saurashtra batters. Vasuki Kaushik is at his miserly best, with six consecutive maidens to start his opening spell.
Jadeja finally breaks free with back-to-back boundaries against Kaverappa as Vyshak comes in as first change.
Yash Dubey got off the mark on the first ball as Shahbaz Ahmed starts with fuller-length balls targeting the fourth stump. The first ball to Himanshu was going down the leg, and the keeper made a huge appeal, but no bat was involved as the umpire seemed not interested.
Mukesh Kumar was spot on from the other end, bowling testing lengths against Himanshu while starting with a tight line. However, the keeper batter showed his defensive prowess to negotiate tough over.
Both batters have shown solid defence to carefully play the first few overs. They have been beaten a couple of times, but nothing concerning for the openers till now. Five gone MP eight without a loss.
Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri open for Madhya Pradesh as captain Manoj Tiwary went with spin to start the proceeding with left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed.
Saurashtra loses its first wicket. Kaverappa gets past the defence of Snell Patel, who never looked comfortable, to strike the first blow for the home side an over before the tea break
Snell Patel b Kaverappa 0 (16b 0x4 0x6 )
Kartikeya gets the final wicket as he removes Ishan Porel for 0. Good length ball crashes into stumps as Bengal bundled out for 438. Mini-collapse for Bengal which was looking quite solid one hour before. MP will now have to bat long and it will be eyeing to take first innings lead here which would not be easy considering the pitch. MP will come out to bat after Tea.
Saransh Jain finally opens his account in this game. His persistent spells get him the wicket of Pradipta Pramanik. A length ball was hit straight to the substitute fielder Solanki, who takes an easy catch to send Pradipta for 21. Bengal is nine down. Pramanik c (sub)Aman Solanki b Saransh Jain 21(62) [4s-1]
Opener Harvik Desai and Snell Patel open for Saurashtra as Vidwath Kaverappa starts the proceedings for Karnataka in bowling. Saurashtra will look for a steady start, as the game might end based on the first innings lead. Crucial passage of play for both teams.
Pradipta Pramanik hangs in the middle as he is steering Bengal close to 450. Madhya Pradesh is looking for one crucial wicket to wrap up this inning quickly.
Mayank Agarwal’s valiant knock comes to an end just one run short of the 250 mark. He went for a suicidal second run, in order to preserve strike and ended up well short of the crease. He has almost single-handedly taken Karnataka to a possible winning position. And with that, we come to an end of Karnataka’s first innings.
Kartikeya gets his second as he removes AKash Deep. Kept his length back, Akash tried to go for an aerial route but missed the line and the ball crashes into the stumps. Bengal is eight down as MP is now just two wickets away to bundle out the hosts. Akash Deep b Kartikeya 6(10) [4s-1]
Bengal 429/8 in 136 overs vs Madhay Pradesh
400 up for Karnataka as Mayank smashes Prerak Mankad for a six down the ground. Reckon Karnataka has got a fine first-innings total. Saurashtra, after having won a good toss, will be gutted.
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Agarwal opens up further as he brings out almost all of his aggressive aerial shots. A lofted cover drive is followed up with a slash over point and he ends with a step-out-and-smack over long-off.
His onslaught lifts Karnataka’s team total beyond 400 runs. This must be beyond what it must have had in its mind after how Saurashtra started yesterday with the ball. Agarwal now has the 250 mark within his reach.
Abhishek Porel has been run out! Both batters commit errors as Himanshu Mantri runs out the keeper for 51. Porel hit the ball straight to the bowler, and it hit the stumps directed from Saransh’s fingers, and Porel ran down the pitch but returned with Pramanik as the brain-fade moment occurred there, and the mix-up cost Bengal a wicket here. Abishek Porel run out (Mantri) 51(102) [4s-8]
Bengal 419/7 in 132.5 overs vs Madhay Pradesh
Saurashtra is running out of ideas against Mayank Agarwalas he continues to find ways to score runs, without undue risks.
A searing six against Jadeja is followed by a few overs of farming strike before he unleashes a cracking cover drive to an over-pitched Jani delivery.
Sakariya finally breaks the partnership as he shapes one just away from the defence of Kaverappa and clicks it off the top of the off-stump. Saurashtra can smell the end of Karnataka’s innings here.
Vidwath Kaverappa b Sakariya 15 (42b 3x4 0x6 )
Abhishek Porel steps out against Kartikeya to hit him for a boundary showing his intent. It follows with a single to complete his well-deserved fifty! An 88-ball 50 for the keeper.
Abhishek Porel hangs in the middle as Pradipta Pramanik joins him at number eight. Aditya Srivastava is using Kartikeya along with Avesh Khan from both ends as MP is desperate to end Bengal’s innings which already has played over 125 overs. Meanwhile, Bengal went past 400 and looks in control against MP on their home.
Manoj Tiwary falls after scoring a hard-fought 129-ball 42 as Kumar Kartikeya finally gets a wicket. He pitched the ball on the middle line and the ball spun away after taking an outside edge which went past keeper Himanshu Mantri but Venkatesh Iyer finished the catch on slip to give MP a much-need breakthrough. Manoj Tiwary c Venkatesh Iyer b Kartikeya 42(129) [4s-5]
Bengal 401/6 in 123.5 overs vs MP
At his home ground, against once of the best bowling attacks in the tournament, Mayank Agarwal has constructed one of the best knocks of his career. He received close to no support from his top-order partners, but he has strived and struggled to eventually thrive and now he has reached the landmark figure of 200.
Captain Manoj Tiway tagged along with keeper Abhishek Porel to irritate the Madhya Pradesh attack as it looks to score big in Indore.
Mayank Agarwal and Kaverappa continue for Karnataka after lunch. Agarwal with an elegantly driven four to enter the 190s. Karnataka will be pinning its hopes on its skipper to get it past 350 or even more.
Fine session for Karnataka. They may have lost three wickets, but runs have come at a brisk pace. As many as 106 of them, with Mayank batting splendidly to score 75 of those. The captain is batting on 185 and has put on more than 50 for the eighth wicket with Kaverappa.
-N SUDARSHAN
Another session went Bengal’s way with 84 runs coming in 31 overs with a run rate of 2.71 and MP could only manage a single wicket from this session. Time for lunch as Bengal is nine shy of touching the 400-run mark with five wickets in hand.
After two overs of Avesh Khan, Saransh Jain and Anubhav Agarwal continued to bowl in tandem. Things look comfortable for the visitors as it slowly nears the 400-run mark.
Abhishek Porel is the aggressor for Bengal, as Manoj Tiwary is playing and tiring out the bowlers with his solid front-foot defence.
This has been a slow passage of play in terms of runs scored for Bengal, however, the good thing is they still have wickets in hand and looking at the bowling attack of Madhya Pradesh, Bengal will look to bat long and possibly for only one time in this semifinal.
Mayank Agarwal has found an able partner in Kaverappa as he continues to punish Saurashtra bowlers.
A thumping four against Sakariya is followed by a 10-run over against Jadeja, including a rasping six, as Agarwal brings up the 50-run partnership.
Mayank Agarwal turns on the heat. Steps up to Mankad and slogs in above the deep-mid wicket fence for a six. He then tries an audacious reverse sweep against the medium pacer.
It looked like he made no contact as the ball went to the keeper, but replays indicate there might have been a glance off his gloves.
The 300-run mark comes up for Karnataka and the home side will be pleased with where it is right now, considering the start it had yesterday.
Abhishek Porel looked in fine shape, scoring quick runs. Manoj Tiwary and Porel, Bengal’s wicketkeeper and captain, saw off the tough first overs, and once they looked set, runs came easily for Bengal, which is seeking to cross the 400-run mark before lunch.
Porel and Tiwary scored 40 runs in the last 60 balls to keep the run rate under control. Given that we are only on the second day, Bengal is looking very promising to have a grip on this game.
After a sturdy first hour, MP reverted to a defensive approach with the open field. After 107 overs, Bengal was 369 for five.
Even though three wickets have fallen this morning with the new ball, Mayank has been at his resplendent best. A couple of beautiful drives, short-arm pull and a steer behind square. He has now scored more than half of Karnataka’s total.
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Kushang Patel gets another one. Vyshak fails to deal with a sharp one from the pacer and has his wickets disarranged. This has been a very hostile spell from the Saurashtra bowler and he is being rewarded with his third wicket.
Karnataka 278/8 (102.4 ov) vs Saurashtra
Vijaykumar Vyshak b Kushang Patel 6 (19b 0x4 0x6)
Vijaykumar Vyshak is the new batter as Saurashtra enters Karnataka’s ‘tail-end’. Mayank Agarwal, understanding the situation his team is in, amps up his aggressiveness, as he begins to go after Saurashtra bowlers with increased regularity.
A stylish flick against Chetan Sakariya and a flowing straight drive against Jani were the stand-out shots from the Karnataka skipper, who entrusts Vyshak with the strike, rather than hoarding it.
Gaurav replaces Avesh from the attack, who bowled just one over in the starting spell. Manoj steps out as he is anticipating an outswinger, but the ball shapes in and hits the knee roll - Gaurav looks confident and appeals for lbw, but could not impress the umpire.
Anubhav continues to impress with the new ball as he deceives Ahmed three times in five deliveries. This has been a good passage of play for MP but Bengal is not giving away any wickets.
Gaurav finally gets the breakthrough with the wicket of Ahmed as Porel came in at number seven. Tiwary and Porel will now look to take their time. Bengal 329 for the loss of five after 97 overs.
One brings two. New man Krishnappa Gautham fails to provide any support to his skipper. Chirag Jani delivers the goods for Saurashtra as he forces a false shot out of Gautham, which is gobbled up by Prerak Mankad. Krishnappa Gowtham c Mankad b Jani 2 (17b 0x4 0x6). Saurashtra is on the up here.
Karnataka 255/7 (95.3 ov) vs Saurashtra
Gaurav finally gets the break that MP has been looking for for a long time. Ahmed’s persistent line and length paid off as Shahbaz is caught behind by keeper Himanshu Mantri for a score of 14. He pitched the ball with a good line, and the ball did the rest as Ahemd leaned forward to drive the ball, but it nicked and went to the keeper. Abhishek Porel joins captain Tiwary in the middle. Shahbaz Ahmed c Mantri b Gaurav Yadav 14(36) [4s-2]
Bengal 327/5 (95 overs) vs Madhya Pradesh
Mayank shows some signs of aggression with back-to-back boundaries against Kushang Patel. But Saurashtra gets its reward at the other end. Chetan Sakariya beats Sharath and traps him in front. That is the end of a fantastic partnership between Mayank and Sharath. The visiting side now gets a look into Karnataka’s lower order. Srinivas Sharath lbw b Sakariya 66 (153b 4x4 0x6 )
Karnataka 251-6 (92.1 ov) vs Saurashtra
There are runs on this pitch, and if batted carefully, teams can pile up big runs, and Bengal is trying exactly that. On the first day,
Anubhav Agarwal started with fuller-length testing line deliveries, but captain Manoj Tiwary carefully negotiated the first over of the second day.
Avesh bowls the second over of the day, and Ahmed welcomes him with a boundary, Avesh tries to test Ahmed with a fuller length ball, shaping in for a left-hander, but Shahbaz quickly comes into the position to scoop it past mid-wicket for a boundary.
Anubhav continues to hit the right spot and deceives Manoj once when the ball moves away from the batter, and a huge appeal follows for caught behind, but nothing concrete as the gap between bat and ball was clearly visible to the umpire.
A couple of half-hearted appeals from Madhya Pradesh, but it is a steady start for Bengal as Ahemd and Tiwary play out the initial overs with care. Bengal is two shy of 320 after the first five overs of the second day.
Arpit Vasavada goes for the new ball straight away. Kushang Patel with the first over of the day for the away side. Sharath and Mayank deal with it as comfortably as they did yesterday. Sakariya from the other end and he too can’t trouble the well-settled Karnataka batters. No boundaries, yet, for the two this morning.
Day 1 of this Ranji semifinal was marked by Karnataka’s fightback, led by its skipper Mayank Agarwal and Srinivas Sharath, who put together a brilliant partnership of 117 runs after Saurashtra dominated the early exchanges. The duo will look to continue the charge but will be tested by a rejuvenated Saurashtra attack, which also has the new ball in its tank.
Overnight batters, Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed will come out to bat against Chandrakant Pandit’s men. Captain Aditya Srivastava will want to attack from both ends and try to bundle them as soon as possible.
Bengal in Ranji Trophy 2022-23 so far
- UTTAR PRADESH - WON BY 6 WICKETS
- HIMACHAL PRADESH - DRAW (FIL)
- NAGALAND - WON BY AN INNINGS & 161 RUNS
- UTTARAKHAND - DRAW (FIL)
- BARODA - WON BY 7 WICKETS
- HARYANA - WON BY AN INNINGS & 50 RUNS
- ODISHA - LOST BY 7 WICKETS
- JHARKHAND (OF) - WON BY 9 WICKETS
- MADHYA PRADESH (SF) - ON GOING*
Madhya Pradesh in Ranji Trophy 2022-23 so far
- JAMMU & KASHMIR - WON BY AN INNINGS & 17 RUNS
- CHANDIGARH - WON BY AN INNINGS & 125 RUNS
- RAILWAYS - WON BY 2 WICKETS
- VIDARBHA - WON BY 205 RUNS
- GUJARAT - WON BY 260 RUNS
- PUNJAB - LOST BY AN INNINGS & 122 RUNS
- TRIPURA - DRAW (FID)
- ANDHRA (OF) - WON BY 5 WICKETS
- BENGAL (SF) - ON GOING*
DAY 1 RECAP OF BENGAL VS MADHYA PRADESH
Bengal’s youth and experience came to the fore as Sudip Gharami (112, 213b, 12x4, 2x6) and Anustup Majumdar (120, 206b, 13x4, 1x6) frustrated defending champion Madhya Pradesh with a 241-run partnership for the third wicket on the first day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal here on Wednesday.
Facing an opposition that thwarted Bengal’s campaign at the same stage last season, Gharami and Majumdar saw off Gaurav Yadav and Anubhav Agarwal in the first session, braved a short-ball ploy from Avesh Khan and rode out the spin threat of Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya.
However, both perished within two overs of the onset of the second new ball. Avesh castled Majumdar with a yorker that tailed away and Anubhav trapped Gharami in front with one that seamed in to enthuse the smattering of fans and ensure they return tomorrow with Bengal 307 for four at Stumps. Check out the full report here. READ
-DHRUVA PRASAD
Brief Score
DAY 1 RECAP OF KARNATAKA VS SAURASHTRA
A captain’s knock from Mayank Agarwal (110 batting, 246b, 11x4, 1x6) carried Karnataka to 229 for five at stumps on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy semifinal against Saurashtra at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.
On a wicket that sported a generous sprinkling of grass, and under conditions where the ball swung and seamed all day, Mayank, who lost the toss, stood tall, thwarting the visiting pacers to script his 15th First Class century. By evening he had also succeeded in relegating to the back of the mind some of his teammates’ rank mediocrity.
From a dire 112 for five, Mayank and wicketkeeper Sharath Srinivas (58, 143b, 4x4) combined for a 117-run partnership for the sixth wicket (279 balls). It wasn’t as if their innings were chanceless. Mayank was dropped on 13 by Snell Patel at second slip off Prerak Mankad and Sharath could have been run out on 22 if ‘keeper Harvik Desai had collected a throw from the deep properly. Check out the full report here. READ
-N SUDARSHAN