Ranji Trophy: Manvanth’s first ton, Badoni’s 200 on Day 2
Manvanth Kumar’s maiden first-class century and Ayush Badoni’s commanding double hundred headlined an eventful second day of the Ranji Trophy on Monday, with several teams gaining an edge in the country’s domestic red-ball competitions.
Karnataka strengthened their position against Saurashtra after Manvanth hit 135 while Delhi piled up 648 for six declared against group leaders Gujarat. Kerala also took control of Odisha, powered by Mohammed Azharuddeen’s unbeaten 139.
MANVANTH LEADS KARNATAKA
Manvanth’s 135 off 214 balls helped Karnataka reach 342 all out after they had proceeded to 281 for eight. The 22-year-old left-hander hit 11 fours and six sixes, showing confidence against Saurashtra’s experienced bowling attack.
He reached his century off 147 balls, guiding pacer Chetan Sakariya over the cordon for a boundary. Manvanth also took on Jaydev Unadkat, dancing down the track to hit the seamer over cover for a six before following it up with another maximum.
Abhilash Shetty remained unbeaten on 14 off 137 balls to help Manvanth add 146 runs for the ninth wicket. Spinner Parth Bhut was Saurashtra’s most successful bowler as he finished with five wickets.
Saurashtra responded through openers Harvik Desai and Hetvik Kotak who put on 110 runs. Desai made 77 and Kotak 46 but the Karnataka bowlers hit back after Vidwath Kaverappa dismissed Desai.
Abhilash Shetty then removed Chirag Jani and Jay Gohil before Vysakh Vijayakumar accounted for Kotak. Saurashtra closed on 164 for four, trailing by 178 runs.
BADONI, PRIYANSH POWER DELHI
Delhi dominated with the bat against Gujarat at the Palam B Ground and were 648 for six after 136.4 overs.
Captain Ayush Badoni smashed 217 off 246 balls, hitting 22 fours and two sixes, after Priyansh Arya narrowly missed out on a double century with 199 on the opening day.
Sumit Mathur contributed 92 while Anuj Rawat remained unbeaten on 61 off 61 balls. Gujarat reached 98 for two at stumps, still 550 runs behind.
BENGAL, SERVICES IN CLOSE COMPETITION
Bengal and Services remained locked in a tight fight after 15 wickets fell on the second day. The Bengal spinners were dismissed for 122 in reply to their first innings total of 184.
Shahbaz Ahmed, returning from injury, claimed four for 35 while Aamir Gani took four for 31. Pradipta Pramanik chipped in with two wickets as all 10 service batters were dismissed by the spinners.
Captain Rajat Paliwal offered resistance with an unbeaten 48 off 129 balls but Services conceded a first innings lead of 62 runs.
Bengal then struggled with the Services spinners and were bowled out for 146 in their second innings. Rahul Singh took five for 39 while Pulkit Narang and Arjun Sharma took two wickets apiece.
Abhimanyu Easwaran top-scored with 30, while Abishek Porel made 25 and Sudip Kumar Gharami contributed 23. Chasing 209, Services reached 12 without the loss of stumps, needing 197 more runs with three days remaining.
AZHARUDDEEN GIVES KERALA IN CONTROL
Mohammed Azharuddeen continued his impressive innings to finish unbeaten on 139 off 263 balls as Kerala posted 404 against Odisha. Kerala went on to 245 for six and added valuable runs through Aditya Sarwate who scored 53 off 77 deliveries.
Odisha’s Lalit Yadav took three wickets while Rajesh Mohanty, Soumya Lenka and Ninad Rathva took two each.
Sarwate then struck with the ball, taking two wickets and conceding only 27 runs in 17 overs. Odisha ended the day at 114 for three, 290 runs behind. Gourav Choudhary top scored with 50 while Shantanu Mishra made 32.
ZEESHAN’S FIVE-FOR GIVE UP THE EDGE
Uttar Pradesh recovered from an early collapse to reach 102 for four in their second innings against Goa, extending their total lead to 140 runs.
Goa were bowled out for 164 after continuing on 43 without loss, with leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari 5 for 45. Shivendra Bhujbal top-scored for Goa with 44 while Yash Kasvankar made 36.
UP’s first innings revolved around Rinku Singh remaining unbeaten on 118 as his side reached 202. Goa’s Kasvankar took five for 86.
UP then lost Abhishek Goswami and Madhav Kaushik for ducks at the start of their second innings. Captain Aryan Juyal steadied the innings with 60 not out, sharing an 87-run partnership with Karan Sharma, who hit 31.
PATIDAR CENTURY RAISES MADHYA PRADESH
Madhya Pradesh reached 302 for five against Puducherry and took a 125-run lead in the first innings after dismissing the hosts for 177.
Rajat Patidar remained unbeaten on 107 while Chanchal Rathore scored 78 and Shubham Sharma contributed 58. Ritesh Gudge top scored for Puducherry with 53 while Ravi Kiran took three for 51.
SAMARTH HOLDS VIDARBHA CONTAINED
Vidarbha reached 253 for seven in reply to Jammu and Kashmir’s 260, leaving them at stumps seven runs short of their first innings total.
Ravikumar Samarth led the reply with 133 while Rajneesh Gurbani contributed 44. Kawalpreet Singh narrowly missed a century for Jammu and Kashmir, scoring 96 while Paras Dogra 36. Umar Nazir Mir took four wickets for the hosts.
MOLIYA’S TON TAKES BARODA OVER 400
Baroda built up a sizeable lead in the first innings against Bihar after posting 416 in reply to Bihar’s 166.
Priyanshu Moliya top-scored with 132, while Deepak Hooda made 70 and Mahesh Pithiya added 61. Raj Limbani was Baroda’s outstanding bowler in Bihar’s first innings, taking four for 32.
Bihar reached four for no loss in their second innings at stumps but were left 246 runs behind.
With Manvanth and Badoni producing outstanding batting performances and the spinners dominating the Bengal-Services and Uttar Pradesh-Goa contests, the second day brought a mix of individual milestones and match situation shifts in the Ranji Trophy.
SHORT Score
- At Aluru: Karnataka: 342 all out in 111.3 overs (Manvanth Kumar 135; Parth Bhut 5/89) vs Saurashtra 164/4 in 53 overs (Harvik Desai 77; Abhilash Shetty 2/26).
- At Vijayawada: Hyderabad: 275 & 78/2 in 23 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 49 runs; K Saiteja 2/4) vs Andhra 184 total in 63 overs (Shaik Rasheed 61; Tanay Thyagarajan 5/63).
- At Guwahati: Assam 334 Vs. Tripura 62 all out in 22.1 overs (Mohit Thakur 3/6, Mukhtar Hussain 3/23) and (subsequently) 143/5 in 30 overs (M Murasingh 59 batting, Sentu Sarkar/23 Deka batting);
- At Mullanpur: Punjab: 456 all out in 152.5 overs (Uday Saharan 161, Salil Arora 107; Dharmendasinh Jadeja 7/173) vs Chhattisgarh 72/5 in 27 overs (Harpreet Brar 5/21).
- Delhi 648/6 declared; 136.4 overs (Ayush Badoni 217, Priyansh Arya 199, Sumit Mathur 92, Anuj Rawat 61). Gujarat 98/2; 35 overs.
- Bengal 184 and 146; 52.5 overs (Abhishek Porel 25; Rahul Singh 5/39, Arjun Sharma 2/50, Pulkit Narang 2/34) Services 122; 62.2 overs (Rajat Paliwal 48; Shahbaz Ahmed 4/35, Aamir Gani 4/31, Pradipta Pramanik 2/31) and 12 not out.
- In Thiruvanathapuram: Kerala 404; 129.3 overs (Mohammed Azharudden 139 not out, Aditya Sarwate 53; Lalit Yadav 3/53, Rajesh Mohanty 2/81, Soumya Lenka 2/57, Ninad Rathva 2/81). Odisha 114/3; 46 overs (Gourav Choudhary 50; Aditya Sarwate 2/27).
- At Pune: Jharkhand 169. Maharashtra 403/5; 116 overs (Digvijay Patil 148, Ankit Bawne 120 batting).
– The end