Ranji Wrap: Yuvraj closes in on 24th first class ton, Mumbai still in hunt against TN

Manan Vohra hit his second first class hundred and skipper Yuvraj Singh was closing on his 24th as Punjab made a solid reply to Gujarat’s first innings by ending the day at 434 for five at Mohali on Saturday. It was tremendous batting effort by the hosts as courtesy a collective batting show, Punjab are now set to walk away with first innings lead. They are trailing Gujarat by just 33 runs. Vohra scored 104 that came off 229 balls with 13 boundaries. He was scalped by Romesh Powar. [caption id=“attachment_2002329” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Yuvraj Singh. PTI[/caption] Vohra’s overnight partner Uday Kaul was dismissed for 78 by spinner Rujul Bhatt. But there was no respite for the Gujarat bowlers as Mandeep Singh (63) and Yuvraj raised a 118-run stand for the fourth wicket. Mandeep was run out and Himanshu Chawla also went back after a 31-run cameo but Yuvraj kept batting solid from one end. His 85 came off 122 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Giving him company at the stumps were Siddarth Kaul (2). Brief Scores: Gujarat 1st innings: 467 all out in 139.1 overs; Punjab 1st innings: 434 for 5 in 127 overs. (M Vohra 104, Yuvraj 85 batting; R Bhatt 3/118) Kerala stare at defeat: Jharkhand looked to post an outright win against Kerala after setting a huge target of 317 runs and then reducing the hosts to 71 for one on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group C tie. Kerala need 246 runs for victory on the final day tomorrow with nine wickets in hand. Having scored 202 in their opening essay, Jharkhand had bundled out Kerala for just 148 to take a first innings lead. Resuming on 47 for two in their second innings, Jharkhand went on to score 262 all out to take an upper hand. Overnight batsman Ishan Kishan top scored with 100-ball 58. Saurabh Tiwary (46), Kaushal Singh (44) and Anand Singh (43) also chipped in with important runs. Chasing a massive target, Kerala lost a wicket. At stumps, Akshay Kodoth was unbeaten 37 and Rohan Prem on five. Brief scores: Jharkhand: 202 & 262 (Ishan Kishan 58; KS Monish 5/66); Kerala: 148 & 71/1 (Akshay Kodoth batting 37). Mumbai still in reckoning against Tamil Nadu: Mumbai conceded a first-innings lead as they were bowled out for 294 despite a feisty 150-run knock by Siddhesh Lad but remained in the hunt on the third and penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Tamil Nadu. In reply, the visitors were tottering at 73/7 in the second innings but had an overall lead of 213 runs at the Bandra Kurla Complex. When the stumps were drawn, Malolan Rangarajan (15) and Aswin Crist (1) were the two unbeaten batsmen for the visiting team. Resuming at overnight 45/2, Mumbai were rescued by Lad after a batting collapse with M Mohammed being the wrecker-in-chief with a haul of 5/86. Lad’s knock was laced with 16 fours and seven hits over the ropes and came off 184 balls. However, none of the other Mumbai batsmen could support him in the middle as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. In reply, Tamil Nadu batsmen put up a shambolic display with pacer Vishal Dabholkar doing the maximum damage with a haul of 5 for 41 in his 13 overs to keep Mumbai in with a chance of not just saving but also go for a victory. Brief Scores: Mumbai 1st Innings: 294 all out (Siddhesh Lad 150, M Mohammed 5/86); Tamil Nadu: 434 and 73/7 in 27 overs (M Rangarajan 15 batting, V Dabholkar 5/41). PTI