Ranji Trophy 2022: Sarfaraz's 275 helps Mumbai post 544/7; Het Patel keeps Gujarat in hunt

Ahmedabad: Young Sarfaraz Khan hit a stroke-filled 275 to propel Mumbai to a mammoth 544/7 and put 41-time champions in a commanding position on the second day of their Elite Group D Ranji Trophy game against defending champions Saurashtra here on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_10387921” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sarfaraz, who continued from his overnight score on 121, took the Saurashtra attack to cleaners and hammered 30 boundaries and seven maximum in his 401-ball innings. Image Courtesy: @Cricketracker[/caption] Sarfaraz, who continued from his overnight score on 121, took the Saurashtra attack to cleaners and hammered 30 boundaries and seven maximum in his 401-ball innings. The 24-year-old was at his best at the Narendra Modi stadium as he spared no bowler. His senior pro Ajinkya Rahane fell for a patient 129 off 290 balls, but more importantly kept himself in contention for a place in the national team. Sarfaraz and Rahane, a Test specialist, conjured 252-runs for the fourth wicket and pulled the domestic heavyweights out of trouble after they were 44/3 at one stage. The day clearly belonged to Sarfaraz, who has been piling runs in first-class cricket for a considerable amount of time. After experienced wicket-keeper Aditya Tare (22) and all-rounder Shams Mulani (12) fell cheaply, Sarfaraz found an able ally in number eight Tanush Kotian (50 not out; 5x4; 1x6) as the duo added 118 runs for the seventh wicket. Courtesy their partnership, Mumbai breached the 500-run mark. The pint-sized batter, however, missed a deserving triple hundred and was trapped by Mankad in front of the wicket, but till then the damage had been done. Het Patel keeps Gujarat in hunt for first innings lead against MP Wicketkeeper Het Patel hit a patient 72 off 139 balls to keep Gujarat in the hunt for a crucial first innings lead against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match here on Friday. Madhya Pradesh, which started at the overnight score of 235 for 7, were bundled out for 274 in 96.3 overs. In reply, Gujarat ended the day at 244 for 6, thanks to Het Patel’s vital knock, in which he slammed eight fours and a lone six. Gujarat still trail by 30 runs at the SCA stadium. At one stage, Gujarat were reeling at 167 for 5 as their top-order faltered despite decent contributions from skipper Priyank Panchal and Manprit Juneja. Het Patel found an able partner in Karan Patel (40 not out; 8x4), as the two forged a 70-run stand for the sixth wicket. Het Patel was the more aggressive one, while Karan Patel played his part to perfection. But when it looked like the duo would take their team past MP’s total, Gaurav Yadav trapped Het Patel in front of the wicket, as Gujarat lost their sixth wicket for 237. Earlier in the day, Gujarat lost opener Kathan Patel (3) and one-down Bhargav Merai (4) cheaply, as they were reeling at 35 for 2. Skipper Priyank Panchal hit 52 (9x4) while seasoned campaigner Manprit Juneja made 53 as MP bowlers, led by pacer Ishwar Chandra Pandey (3/50), kept striking at regular intervals. When the stumps were drawn, Karan Patel had Roosh Kalaria (6 not out) for company. Lalit Yadav’s special hundred puts Delhi in command against TN Lalit Yadav hammered 10 sixes enroute to his maiden first-class hundred and batted brilliantly with the tail to put Delhi in a strong position against Tamil Nadu after day two of the Ranji Trophy Group H here on Friday. Resuming the day at 291 for seven, Delhi ended up getting an imposing first innings score of 452 all out courtesy Yadav’s 177 off 287 balls. Delhi also got two crucial wickets before stumps, leaving Tamil Nadu at 75 for two and trailing by 377 runs. If the opening day belonged to India U-19 star Yash Dhull, Friday was all about Yadav who batted fearlessly in his entertaining innings. Besides 10 sixes, he smashed 17 fours. His knock was not all about brutal hitting. The 25-year-old shielded the tail including Simarjeet Singh (19 off 57), Vikash Mishra (7 off 58) and Kuldip Yadav (9 not out off 37) to ensure Delhi score beyond 450. Yadav, who is rated highly by Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting, carried his impressive white-ball form in domestic cricket to play the best innings of his 12-match old first-class career. His collected boundaries all around the wicket and reached his half-century with a flat six over mid wicket off pacer M Mohammed before getting to three figures with consecutive straight sixes off spinner R Sai Kishore. He even got to his 150 with a boundary. His memorable innings ended when he edged an attempted drive to first slip off Sai Kishore and what followed was a standing ovation from his teammates. Tamil Nadu openers Kaushik Gandhi (37 batting) and Laxmesha Suryaprakash (23) shared a 50-run stand before the latter was dismissed by Kuldip. Vikas Mishra removing Baba Aparajith (0) made it 56 for two. Shah’s maiden double ton takes Maharashtra to 415; Assam 81/2 in reply Debutant Pavan Shah slammed his maiden double hundred to take Mahrashtra to an imposing 415 and put them in a commanding position against Assam on the second day of their Elite Group G Ranji Trophy game here on Friday. The 22-year-old Shah, a right-handed batter, who hails from Chinchwad near Pune, took the pedestrian Assam attack to cleaners as he hammered 20 boundaries and two maximums enroute his 219 off 401 balls. Shah started from his overnight score on unbeaten 165, and remained the cynosure of eyes at the Choudhry Bansilal stadium here, as he kept playing his shots at will. The right-handed batter, a product of the Verroc Vengsarkar academy, stitched a 112-run stand with number seven Diyang Hinganekar (46; 7x4), who played his role to perfection. But in-form Assam pacer Mukhtar Hussain (5/88) trapped Hinganekar in front of the wicket as Maharashtra lost its sixth wicket for 296. But there was more agony in store for Assam as Shah found an able ally in Satyajeet Bachhav, who hit a patient 52 in 108 balls, striking six boundaries and a maximum. The Shah-Bachhav duo added vital 74-runs for the seventh wicket. It was Bachhav’s knock that eventually helped the western team cross the 400-mark and ensure that it would be an uphill task for Assam batters. After Bachhav fell, Assam bowlers quickly rattled the tail. In reply, Assam lost opener Rishav Das (14) cheaply, who became Mukesh Choudhary’s first victim. Even one-down batter Gokul Sharma (5) perished early as they were reeling at 32/2. But opener Subham Mandal (34 not out) and the talented all-rounder Riyan Parag (26 not out ) then steadied the ship with their 49-run unbroken stand for the third wicket and held fort till stumps were drawn. At stumps, Assam was poised at 81/2, still adrift by 334 runs. Brief Scores: Mumbai 544/7 declared (Sarfaraz Khan 275, Ajinkya Rahane 129; Chirag Jani 2/83, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 2/191) versus Saurashtra 18/0. Saurashtra trail by 526 runs. Goa 181 and 87/2 (Amogh Desai 42, Abhishek Raut 1/10) versus Odisha 189 (Rajesh Dhuper 71, Abhishek Raut 29; Shubham Ranjane 5/49). Goa lead by 79 runs. Madhya Pradesh 274 all out (Shubham Sharma 92, Rajat Patidar 54; Arzan Nagwaswalla 5/59, Roosh Kalaria 2/52) against Gujarat 244/6 (Het Patel 72, Manprit Juneja 53; Ishwar Pandey 3/50, Gourav Yadav 2/59). Gujarat trail by 30 runs. Delhi 452 all out in 141.2 overs (Yash Dhull 113, Jonty Sidhu 71, Lalit Yadav 177;  Mohammd Mohammed 4/75) vs Tamil Nadu 75/2 in 30 overs. Meghalaya: 148 all out (Punit Bist 93, Kishan Lyngdoh 26; Edhen Tom 4/41, Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan 3/34) versus Kerala 454 for 8 (Rahul P 147, Rohan Kunnummal 107, Vathsal 76 not out; Chirag Khurana 3/106, Md Nafees 2/48). Kerala lead by 306 runs. Maharashtra 415 all out (Pawan Shah 219; Satyajeet Bachhav 52; Mukhtar Hussain 5/88, Arup Das 2/86) versus Assam 81/2 (Subham Mandal 34 not out, Riyan Parag 26 not out; Manoj Ingle 1/5). Assam trail by 334 runs. Uttar Pradesh 301 all out (Akshdeep Nath 91, Rinku Singh 65; Dhruv Jurel 64; Aditya Sarwate 5/86, Aditya Thakare 2/43, Umesh Yadav 2/58) versus Vidarbha 256/2 (Faiz Fazal 142 not out, Sanjay Ramaswamy 96; Ankit Rajpoot 1/50, Saurabh Kumar 1/84). Vidarbha trail by 45 runs. 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