Vinod Kambli and Venkatesh Prasad evoked nostalgia for their better days as they put in inspired performances on the second day of the first round of Ranji Trophy games
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan08-Nov-2003
Vinod Kambli stood up to be counted
© AFP
Mumbai v Baroda Mumbai 278 for 6 (Kambli 108*, Morris 51*) lead Baroda 213 all out (Mongia 74, Salvi 5-42) by 65 runs
Vinod Kambli (108 not out) scripted a memorable rescue act as Mumbai overcame some jittery moments to finish the second day 65 runs ahead of Baroda at the Wankhede stadium. At 142 for 6 Mumbai were in serious strife, but Robin Morris and Kambli added an priceless 136 runs together to wrest back the initiative. Vinayak Mane(50) was also among the runs with an elegant half-century. Shekar Joshi derailed the innings with three wickets as all the batsmen fell to irresponsible shots. But just when the scene looked bleak, Kambli stood up to be counted.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh v Delhi Delhi 478 (Gambhir 147, Oberoi 80, Gupta 5-143) lead Uttar Pradesh 19 for 0 by 459 runs
Slow left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta bowled a marathon spell to finish with a five-wicket haul, but Delhi finished the first innings on an imposing 478 at Kanpur. The much-hyped return of Ajay Jadeja had an abrupt end as he was bowled by Gynandra Pandey for just 13. After suffering a batting mauling yesterday, Pradeshhad done a great job to reduce Delhi to 416 for 8, but a fine 51 by Sarandeep Singh ensured that the visitors finished the second day on a high note.
ScorecardGujarat v Hyderabad Hyderabad 27 for 1 and 245 (Lalit Patel 5-58) lead Gujarat 119 (NP Singh 6-33) by 153 runs
After bowling Hyderabad out for 245 and sitting pretty at 113 for 3, Gujarat were tightening their grip on the match. That was when Narender Pal Singh decided to take matters into his own hands and along with Venkatapathy Raju triggered a batting fiasco. The last seven Gujarat batsmen made a grand total of 11 runs as the home team were reduced to their knees and effectively shut out of the contest. L. Pawar (40) top scored for Gujarat, an innings that may well be forgotten in the face of Singh’s six wicket effort.
ScorecardKerala v Punjab Punjab 541 for 7 (Mongia 151, Ricky 125)
Punjab continued to flog the hapless Kerala attack as they piled on 541 at the end of the second day at Palakkad. The highlights of the day were solid half centuries by Chandan Madan (67) and Reetinder Singh Sodhi (57*). Dinesh Mongia and Ravneet Ricky had stroked fine centuries yesterday and set up a perfect launching pad for the middle-order. Sreekumar Nair manfully toiled all day and was the most successful bowler with three wickets in the innings. The last session was washed out due to rain and Kerala were given some respite by the forces of nature.
ScorecardRajasthan v Bengal Rajasthan 32 for 1 and 205 for 6 (Khoda 86, Paul 6-68) lead Bengal 118 (Sharma 6-18) by 119 runs
Sanjeev Sharma demolished Bengal with a six-wicket haul and Rajasthan held all the aces at the end of the second day’s play at Jaipur. Shib Shankar Paul cleaned up the Rajasthan tail and finished with an impressive six-wicket haul. On a difficult pitch, Gagan Khoda’s 86 on the first day may prove priceless as Sharma ripped through the underbelly of the Bengal batting with devastating effect and conceded only 18 runs in his 16.5 overs. None of the batsmen had a clue against his seam movement as the visitors were bundled out for a paltry 118. Rajasthan were 32 for 1 in their second innings as Bengal tried to recover from the shock dealt by Sharma earlier in the day.
ScorecardKarnataka v Tamil Nadu Karnataka 23 for 1 and 208 all out (Balaji 4-51, Ramkumar 4-42) lead Tamil Nadu 184 (Prasad 6-51) by 47 runs
Venkatesh Prasad`s inspired bowling ripped through the heart of the Tamil Nadu batting as they collapsed to 184 all out on the second day at Bangalore. Having seen his batsmen play irresponsibly yesterday, Prasad made a powerful statement by probing in the corridor and troubled arguably the best batting line-up in domestic cricket. The two Sridhiran’s, Sriram and Sharath, prevented a batting debacle and on a pitch offering assistance to the seamers, gave the visitors some sort of a chance. The home side will hope for a disciplined batting approach tomorrow and carry on the momentum that Prasad so effectively gained.
ScorecardRailways v Andhra Pradesh Railways 192 for 1 (Bangar 72*, Pagnis 58) trail Andhra 262 (MSK Prasad 61) by 70 runs
Sanjay Bangar propelled the innings with an unbeaten 72 as Railways were comfortably placed at the end of the second day’s play in Delhi. The Andhra innings finished with a slight flourish as left handed Shankara Rao hit a valuable 53 to nudge the score past 250. But the Railways reply was the antithesis of the Andhra batting and had all the attributes of application and patience. Amit Pagnis was in fine fettle as he helped himself to 58 and Sanjay Bangar staked his claim for the Australian tour with a characteristically dour 72. He was ably supported by Tejindar Pal Singh, who finished with a strokefilled 52. None of the Andhra bowlers posed any sort of threat and that may well be the story tomorrow also.
ScorecardSiddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Wisden Cricinfo.