With the completion of Day 2 of Ranji Trophy 2022 quarterfinals, the semi-final picture is getting clearer now. On a day mostly dominated by batters, 21 wickets fell in the clash between Karnataka. As the big guns continued to disappoint, debutant Suved Parkar entered the list of elites with 252-run knock for Mumbai.
Here’s a look at everything that happened across the four quarter-finals -
21 wickets in a day!
Early in Day 2, Karnataka could add 40 runs to their overnight score in 12 overs. Shreyas Gopal batted with the tail and scored a half-century. Gopal remained unbeaten for 56 off 80 deliveries. Yash Dayal and Ankit Rajpoot, who remained wicketless on Day 1, took the rest of the wickets as Karnataka got all out for 253.
Uttar Pradesh's batting lineup struggled against Karnataka and managed just 155 from 37.3 overs. Priyam Garg (39), Rinku Singh (33) and Shivam Mavi (32) got starts but did not go on to get big scores as their openers and middle-order batters failed. Ronit More was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps. Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vidwath Kaverappa and Krishnappa Gowtham took two wickets each whereas Gopal got rid of Mavi.
After Uttar Pradesh's collapse, Karnataka suffered a batting collapse. Half-centurion of first innings, Ravikumar Samarth got out early. Big guns Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and Manish Pandey failed again. Pandey was unlucky to get run out. Gopal could not rescue Karnataka either as the scoreboard read 100/8 at the end of Day 2's play. Saurabh got three wickets whereas Rajpoot got a couple. Prince Yadav and Mavi took one wicket each as well.
Karnataka have a lead of 198 runs. The game is delicately poised between the two teams after 21 wickets fell on Day 2. If Uttar Pradesh bowlers wrap up Karnataka's tail early, they will have a good chance of chasing down the total on Day 3.
Shubham’s century puts Madhya Pradesh in control
After Punjab's dismal performance with the bat on Day 1, Madhya Pradesh batters put them in a solid position. Opener Himanshu Mantri scored 89 whereas Shubham Sharma went on to score century. At the end of Day 2, Madhya Pradesh had 238/2 with Shubham and Rajat Patidar batting on 102 and 20 respectively after 99 years. Only leg-spinner Mayank Markande took two wickets. Madhya Pradesh lead by 19 runs and seem to be heading towards a big first innings score.
On-debut Parkar smashes bowlers
Mumbai batters continued to pile on runs on Day 2. From their overnight score of 304/3, they went on to post 647/8 before declaring the innings. On-debut Parkar scored 252 runs on his Ranji debut. The replacement of Ajinkya Rahane in the Mumbai side got run out after playing 447 deliveries and scoring 21 fours and four sixes in his marathon knock.
His 252 is the fifth-highest score by a batter on First-Class debut. He shared a 267-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan. The in-form batter scored 153 runs from 25 deliveries including 14 fours and four sixes. Shams Mulani also contributed with a half-century as Uttarakhand players were left frustrated on the field. While Deepak Dhapola took three wickets on Day 1, four Uttarakhand bowlers took one wicket each on Day 2.
Uttarakhand's first innings did not get off to a good start either as they lost their skipper Jay Gokul Bista for a golden duck followed by the wicket of Mayank Mishra for a single-digit score. At the end of day's play, they had 39/2 on the board after 11 overs. With a trail of 608 runs ahead of them, they will need a big partnership on Day 3 to avoid follow-on.
Bengal on their way to mammoth total
From 310/2 on Day 1, Bengal finished Day 2 with 577/5 on the board. The partnership between Sudip Kumar Gharami and Anustup Majumdar continued as they shared 241 runs for the second wicket. Majumdar completed his century. He scored 117 runs from 194 deliveries including 15 boundaries. Gharami went on to score 186 runs from 380 deliveries including 21 fours and one six.
After their wickets, veteran Manoj Tiwary and wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel scored their respectively half-centuries. Porel got out after scoring 68 runs whereas Tiwary remained unbeaten for 54. Shahbaz Ahmed is still new to the crease with seven runs from 10 deliveries. Tiwary batted with a strike rate of 37. Bengal posted 267 runs on Day 2.
