Solapur (Maharashtra), Feb 3 (PTI) Saurashtra would be eyeing a victory following fine bowling performances by spinners Yuvrajsinh Dodiya and Parth Bhut, who both grabbed two wickets apiece to leave Maharashtra struggling at 104/5, still 104 runs adrift of the 208-run target, in a Ranji Trophy Group A match here on Saturday.
On a day when veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara failed for the second time in the match, departing for a duck, Saurashtra still managed to set a challenging total for Maharashtra, courtesy a 93-run partnership between tail-enders Chirag Jani (43) and skipper Jaydev Unadkat (45).
Together, the duo lifted Saurashtra from a precarious 69 for 8 to 164 all out, which helped the defending champions set a fighting total.
The entire Saurashtra top-order fell like ninepins, with opener Harvik Desai, Pujara and Bhut departing for naught in the second innings as Maharashtra’s left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj bagged a career-best 8/70.
Walunj, who was also the most successful bowler on Day 1 returning excellent figures of 6/93 in 26 overs, also bagged a career-best match-haul of 14 wickets.
But the 30-year-old spinner’s effort seem to be going waste as Maharashtra batted carelessly in the second innings to surrender the initiative.
At stumps on Day 2, the entire Maharashtra top-order had been sent back, with Siddharth Mhatre (11 not out) and Taranjitsingh Dhillon (6 not out) at the crease.
With more than a 100 runs still to get, it would be an uphill task for Maharashtra to turn around the match on Day 3.
Saurashtra’s Dodiya (2/38) got rid of young Maharashtra opener Kaushal Tambe for 16 before Bhut (2/24) grabbed two quick wickets to have the opponents reeling at 3/62 from their hardly fought hard.
Brief scores: In 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 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).
Source: PTI News
