Ashish Chouhan grabbed an impressive six-wicket haul, while Ravi Kiran returned with three wickets as the pace duo kept Chhattisgarh in the game against heavyweights Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy Group B fixture in Raipur on Saturday. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
Chouhan (6/105) and Kiran (3/53)'s splendid show helped Chhattisgarh bundle out Mumbai for 351 after they resumed at 310 for four as the last six wickets fell inside 16 overs this morning.
In response, Chhattisgarh were 180 for 4 as the match hangs in the balance with the home side trailing by 171 runs going into an intriguing penultimate day.
For the home side, Shashank Chandrakar's struck 56 off 93 balls in a 87-run opening alliance with Rishabh Tiwari (25; 87b).
But the Mumbai bowlers continued to chip away at wickets. Sanjeet Desai, after a promising start, fell for 41 (87b), while skipper Amandeep Khare stood firm with an unbeaten 35.
Assam in driver's seat
Parvej Musaraf's resolute 89, Abhishek Thakuri's 112, his maiden first-class century, and Mrinmoy Dutta's brisk 72 off 54 balls lower down the order powered Assam to a formidable 405 against Bihar in Guwahati.
Sakibul Gani was the pick of Bihar's bowlers, claiming 4/91.
Bihar encountered early setbacks with Piyush Singh getting out for a duck, while the other opener Sharman Nigrodh retired hurt without opening the account.
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Gani (10) also departed early before Bipin Saurabh's 39 and Paramjeet Singh's unbeaten 26 steadied the ship as Bihar finished the day at 134 for 5, trailing Assam by 271 runs.
Mukhtar Hussain's impressive spell of 3 for 16 kept Bihar in check.
Bengal batters flounder again
In Thumba, veteran allrounder Jalaj Saxena wreaked havoc, taking 7 for 67 with his spin bowling as Bengal were tottering at 172 for 8 in reply to Kerala's 363, trailing by 191 runs.
Returning to action from India A duties, Abhimanyu Easwaran scored a composed 72 off 93 balls (11x4) at the top of the order.
But the 37-year-old Saxena triggered the collapse after dismissing Abhimanyu and thereafter there was hardly any resistance from the Bengal batters.
Bengal's debutant opener Ranjot Khaira got out for 9, while the likes of skipper Manoj Tiwary (6), Abhishek Porel (2), Anustup Majumdar (0) and Shahbaz Ahmed (8) failed to get to double digits.
Bengal batting also floundered against Mumbai in their previous match as they lost by an innings and four runs.
Brief scores
At Raipur: Mumbai 351; 101.4 overs (Prithvi Shaw 159, Bhupen Lalwani 102; Ashish Chouhan 6/105). Chhattisgarh 180/4; 66 overs (Shashank Chandrakar 56, Amandeep Khare 35 not out; Shams Mulani 1/35). Chhattisgarh trail by 171 runs.
In Guwahati: Assam 405; 121.4 overs (Parvej Musaraf 89, Abhishek Thakuri 115, Mrinmoy Dutta 72 not out; Sakibul Gani 4/91). Bihar 134/5; 46 overs (Bipin Saurabh 39, Paramjeet Singh 26 not out; Mukhtar Hussain 3/16). Bihar trail by 271 runs.
In Thumba: Kerala 363; 127.3 overs (Sachin Baby 124, Akshay Chandran 106, Jalaj Saxena 40; Shahbaz Ahmed 4/73). Bengal 172/8; 49 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 72, Sudip Kumar Gharami 33; Jalaj Saxena 7/67). Bengal trail by 191 runs.
In Viziangaram: Andhra 261; 95.1 overs (KV Sasikanth 72, Ricky Bhui 94; Yash Dayal 3/60, Ashish Chouhan 3/45) and 19/1; 4.3 overs (Maheep Kumar 14; Saurabh Kumar 1/1). Uttar Pradesh 198; 51.5 overs (Aryan Juyal 60, Akshdeep Nath 26; KV Sasikanth 5/54, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/46). Andhra lead by 82 runs.
