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Jharkhand rode on Anukul Roy's splendid 153 to pile a mammoth lead of 1008 runs on Jharkhand as the Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal match ended in a drab draw at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday (March 16).
Jharkhand, who made mockery of Nagaland's bowlers, resumed their second innings on 132/2 heading into the final day of the match. In the second innings, Saurabh Tiwary's side batted for 90.3 overs, and declared with 417/6 on the board. Anukul belted a blistering 153 off 164 to remain the top-scorer of Jharkhand. Wicket Kumar Kushagra also played the second fiddle with 89 off 104. Opener Utkarsh Singh also helped himself to 73.
With a mountaneous total of 1,008 to chase down with less than a day’s worth of play left, both sides decided to end the match in a draw. Jharkhand however, took the innings victory to qualify for the quarterfinal in a peculiar match.
In the first innings, Jharkhand posted a humungous total of 880 in 203.4 overs, with Virat Singh (107 runs from 155), Kumar Kushagra (266 from 269) and Shahbaz Nadeem (177 from 304) notching up three-figure individual tallies. It was the fourth highest total in the history of Ranji Trophy. For Nagaland, Imliwati Lemtur claimed 4 for 179 in 51.4 overs, while Khrievitso Kense returned with figures of 3 for 166 from 31 overs.
Responding to Jharkhand’s massive first-innings total, Nagaland could only manage 289 runs in 103.3 overs. Chetan Bist remained unbeaten on 122 off 253 balls, hitting 13 fours and a six. However, he did not get much support from the other batters. Shrikant Mundhe contributed 39 while Abu Nechim chipped in with 32. For Jharkhand, Shahbaz Nadeem claimed 3 for 70 while Anukul Roy and Sushant Mishra picked up two scalps each.
This was the solitary pre-quarterfinal played between the lowest-ranked team among the eight Elite groups and the toppers of a six-team Plate division. The knockout stages will be held in June after the completion of the IPL.
“What was the need for going for an outright win, when a first innings lead was enough for us to qualify (for the quarterfinal),” said Jharkhand captain Saurabh Tiwary.
