Saurashtra would be in for a win after fine bowling performances from spinners Yuvrajsinh Dodiya and Parth Bhut, both of whom took two wickets each to leave Maharashtra struggling at 104/5, still 104 runs short of the 208-run target, in a Ranji Trophy Group A match in Solapur (Maharashtra) on Saturday. On a day when veteran Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara failed for the second time in the match and departed for a duck, Saurashtra still managed to post a challenging total for Maharashtra, thanks to a 93-run partnership between tail-runners Chirag Jani (43) and skipper Jaydev Unadkat (45).
Together the duo took Saurashtra from a precarious 69 to 8 to 164 all out, helping the defending champions post a fighting total.
Saurashtra's entire top order fell as nine-pins, with opener Harvik Desai, Pujara and Bhut leaving for nothing in the second innings as Maharashtra's left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj posted a career-best 8/70.
Walunj, who was also the most successful bowler on Day 1, posting excellent figures of 6/93 in 26 overs, also achieved a career-best match haul of 14 wickets.
But the 30-year-old spinner's efforts appear to have gone in vain as Maharashtra batted carelessly in the second innings to surrender the initiative.
At stumps on Day 2, Maharashtra's entire top order had been sent back, with Siddharth Mhatre (11 not out) and Taranjitsingh Dhillon (6 not out) at the crease.
With over 100 runs remaining, it would be a tough task for Maharashtra to turn the match around on Day 3.
Saurashtra's Dodiya (2/38) bowled out young Maharashtra opener Kaushal Tambe for 16 before Bhut (2/24) took two quick wickets to leave the opponents reeling at 3/62 for their barely fought hard.
Brief scores: At Solapur: Saurashtra 202 and 164 in 43.2 overs (Chirag Jani 42, Jaydev Unadkat 45; Hitesh Walunj 8/70) vs Maharashtra 159 and 104/5 in 27 overs (Yuvrajsinh Dodiya 2/38, Parth Bhut 2 /24 ).
In Jamshedpur: Manipur 170 vs Jharkhand 473/5 in 117 overs (Utkarsh Singh 116, Saurabh Tiwary 105 batting, Anukul Roy 97 batting).
In Jaipur: Rajasthan 432 in 130.2 overs (Salman Khan 52, Deepak Hooda 77, Kukna Ajay Singh 83; Harsh Dubey 3/110) vs Vidarbha 140/2 in 41 overs (Yash Rathod 68 batting).
In Rohtak: Services 108 and 78/4 in 21.3 overs (Rajat Paliwal 50; Anshul Kamboj 3/16) vs Haryana 103 in 39.2 overs (Rahul Tewatia 31; Varun Choudhary 3/31, Pulkit Narang 3/19) .
Ranji Trophy: Juyal, Karan strike double hundred as UP in command against Assam
Uttar Pradesh's Aryan Juyal and Karan Sharma each hit double centuries to propel their side to a mammoth 548 for eight against Assam on the second day of their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match in Kanpur on Saturday. Juyal (201, 278 balls) and Karan (208, 310 balls) built a 298-run partnership for the third wicket as they delivered their first-ever first-class double century.
For Assam, Mrinmoy Dutta (4/116) was the most successful bowler.
Assam have started their first innings strongly, reaching 116 without loss at the end, with openers Parvej Musaraf (53) and Rahul Hazarika (51) manning the crease. They are trailing by 432 runs.
In another Group B match in Kolkata, Anustup Majumdar's unbeaten hundred (108) was not enough to keep Bengal going against Mumbai.
The visitors resumed the day at 330 for six and added 82 runs to the total before being bowled out for 412.
For Bengal, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal was the standout player with a six-out. However, the hosts stumbled over the bat and were bowled out for 199.
While none of their other batters could cross the 40-run mark, Majumdar along with skipper Manoj Tiwary (36) contributed a 78-run stand for the fourth wicket, which was the only highlight of the Bengal innings.
Mohit Avashi shone for Mumbai with a three-wicket haul as Mumbai now lead by 213 runs.
In Raipur's Group B match, Mohammed Azharuddeen's hard-fought 85 ensured Kerala finished 350 against Chhattisgarh.
Resuming at 219 for four, visiting skipper Sanju Samson played a composed knock of 57 before Azharuddeen's audacity.
For the hosts, Ashish Chouhan impressed with a five before the hosts ended the day at 100 for four and trailed by 250 runs.
Brief scores: In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh: 548/8 (Aryan Juyal 201; Karan Sharma 208; Mrinmoy Dutta 4/116) vs Assam: 116 for no loss (Parvej Musaraf 53 batting, Rahul Hazarika 51 batting).
In Kolkata: Mumbai: 412 all out (Suryansh Shedge 71, Shivam Dube 72; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 6/124) vs Bengal: 199 (Anustup Majumdar 108; Mohit Avasthi 3-63).
In Patna: Bihar: 182 all out (Raghuvendra Pratap Singh 92, Girinath Reddy 5/23) vs Andhra: 313/5 (Ricky Bhui 58, Shaik Rasheed 76; Raghuvendra Pratap Singh 2/46).
In Raipur: Kerala: 350 all out (Sachin Baby 91, Mohammed Azharuddeen 85; Ashish Chouhan 5/100) vs Chhattisgarh: 100/4 (Sanjeet Desai 50 batting; MD Nidheesh 2/19). PTI AYG UNG
Jyotsnil's patient double hundred frustrates Delhi
Baroda is slowly but surely aiming to knock Delhi out of the Ranji Trophy Group D match as Jyotsnil Singh's sedate, unbeaten double hundred took the visitors to 400 for 5 at stumps on the second day. The right-hander remained unbeaten on 215 off 401 balls with the help of 19 fours and a six.
While he remained unbeaten for the second day in a row on his way to his second First Division century, Jyotsnil added just 88 runs off 194 deliveries on the day. In the entire 74 overs, he hit just one boundary.
After starting the day at 202 for 1, Baroda added another 198 runs in 74 overs sent down during the day as Delhi bowlers performed better compared to the opening day.
However, the dead nature of the Airforce Stadium track made life difficult for the home side as they had to wait patiently for the batters' mistakes rather than being able to force a change in the flow of the game.
Baroda, who are currently looking good to reach the knockouts as the top team in Group D, do not need an outright win and are aiming for a first-innings lead.
They may want to score close to 500 and not leave Delhi with enough time to top the first innings score.
Jyotsnil added 201 for the second wicket with Shaswat Rawat, the diminutive left-hander, who was trapped leg-for by veteran Ishant Sharma (2/43 in 19 overs).
Pranshu Vijayaran (2/91 in 23 overs), who failed to find the right length on the opening day, gave a much better account of himself, removing the experienced Vishnu Solanki (12) and later removing the dangerous Shivalik Sharma (45).
Short scores Baroda 400/5 in 138 overs (Jyotsnil Singh 215 batting, Shaswat Rawat 72, Ishant Sharma 2/43) vs Delhi At Cuttack: Odisha 1st innings 322 (Biplab Samantray 82, Govinda Poddar 80, Gourav Yadav 5/69) vs Puducherry 127/4 (KB Arun Karthik 77 batting).
In Dharamsala: Himachal Pradesh: 169 all out vs Madhya Pradesh: 68/4 in 27 overs. In Jammu: Jammu & Kashmir: 168/2 in 39 overs.
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