Guwahati, Mar 4 (Cricket News) Amandeep Khare and Shashank Singh struck fine centuries to dash Delhi's slim quarterfinal hopes as Chhattisgarh posted a mammoth 482 for nine declared in their first innings on the second day of their Ranji Trophy elite group H match here on Friday.

Coming into the contest, Delhi were all but out of the quarterfinal race, languishing at the last spot in the four-team group H with just one point from two games.

To have any slim chances in theory, Delhi needed seven points (including a bonus point) from the ongoing tie, but overnight unbeaten batters Khare and Singh batted Delhi out of that equation.

Resuming at his overnight score of 75, Khare remained unbeaten on 156 off 318 balls, while Singh (122 off 177 balls) hit his maiden first-class century to take Chhattisgarh to a comfortable position.

Left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra (6/124) was the pick of the bowlers for Delhi.

In reply, Delhi scored 108 for three in 30 overs at the close of play on day two.

India's U-19 World Cup-winning skipper Yash Dhull and Kshitiz Sharma made 29 each. Nitish Rana was batting on 20 while Jonty Sidhu (8 not out) was giving him company.

An uphill task awaits Delhi as they still trail Chhattisgarh by 374 runs with two days of play remaining.

Chhattisgarh are leading Group H with seven points from two games.

Tamil Nadu take crucial first innings lead against Jharkhand ==================================== In the second Group H match here, Tamil Nadu took the crucial first innings lead over Jharkhand as they bowled their opponents out for 226 in reply for 285.

Resuming at 256 for seven, the remaining Tamil Nadu batters could add just 29 runs.

But Tamil Nadu bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Manimaran Siddharth (4/37) and off-spinner Masood Shahrukh Khan (3/36), responded brilliantly to bundle out Jharkhand for 226 in 74.3 overs.

In their second essay, Tamil Nadu did not have the best of starts as they ended the day at 14 for two, taking their overall lead to 73 runs over Jharkhand.

Sandeep Warrier also chipped in with two wickets.

Brief Scores: Chhattisgarh: 482 for 9 declared in 145 overs (Amandeep Khare 156 not out, Shashank Singh 122, Ajay Mandal 63; Vikas Mishra 6/124) vs Delhi: 108 for 3 in 30 overs (Yash Dhull 29, Kshitiz Sharma 29; Shubham Agarwal 1/9).

Tamil Nadu: 285 & 14 for 2 in 9 overs (Rahul Shukla 2/4) vs Jharkhand: 226 all out in 74.3 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 58, Utkarsh Singh 52; Manimaran Siddharth 4/37). 

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News Source : PTI