Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Elite Group B - Saurashtra lower order holds on for three points
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Saurashtra’s lower order batsmen — Kamlesh Makvana and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja — held their nerves to clinch three points for their side in the eighth round clash against Mumbai. Elsewhere, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh also earned draws against Karnataka and Railways respectively.
When skipper Arpit Vasavada fell for 31 leaving his side at 83 for seven, Saurashtra’s fate seemed all but sealed. But Makvana and Jadeja safely negotiated the remaining 39.5 overs reaching 158 for seven, earned a draw and — by courtesy of their first-innings lead — took home two extra points for the hosts. Saurashtra are now in second place, only a point behind Gujarat, who have 29 points. Earlier in the day, Mumbai added 77 quick runs to their lead to take the total to 362 for seven, courtesy Shams Mulani’s 98-ball 92. Mulani, who picked up a total of five wickets and 152 runs in the match, won the Man-of-the-Match award.
Resuming the day with six wickets in hand — only 115 runs off Karnataka’s first-innings total of 426 — things looked in favour of the visitors. Ronit More and Abhimanyu Mithun, then, threatened to spoil the day by reducing MP to 381 for nine. However, a heroic hand from Shrivastava, who struck 25 fours and two sixes in his innings, helped MP inch past the hosts to reach 431 all out. The right-hander won the Man-of-the-Match award, but fell eight short of what would’ve been a deserved double century. In their second bout, the hosts reached 62 for one before the teams decided to settle for a draw, which left Karnataka’s quarter-final spot hanging.
Ahead of the final day in Delhi, Railways knew that they would have a whole day and 238 runs to play with in order to clinch an innings-victory over Himachal Pradesh. However, heroes, initially in the form of rain and later on as Amit Kumar, emerged to safely see the visitors through to 165 for three as the captains shook hands for a draw. Prashant Chopra, Akash Vashist, and skipper Ankit Kalsi all played cameos to support Amit’s 71, which included 12 fours. For his unbeaten double hundred in Railways’ first-innings, Arindam Ghosh won the Man-of-the-Match award.
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