Gautam, Shreyas help Karnataka stay on top
CM Gautam (79) and Shreyas Gopal (80 not out) helped Karnataka take a firm grip of their Ranji Trophy 2017-18 quarterfinal contest against Mumbai as they ended the day on 395 for 6, with an overall lead of 222.
After Vinay Kumar's six-wicket haul shot down Mumbai for just 173, Karnataka started the day on 115 for 1 with all eyes on the in-form Mayank Agarwal. The opener fell for 78 in the day but Karnataka were propped up by handy contributions from Kaunain Abbas (50) despite losing Karun Nair and Pawan Deshpande cheaply. Mumbai stayed in the hunt courtesy Shivam Dube's maiden five-wicket haul in his debut game as they reduced Karnataka to 218 for 5. But Gautam and Shreyas collaborated for a 103-run stand to help Karnataka surge ahead in the contest.
Brief scores: Mumbai 173 (Dhawal Kulkarni 75; Vinay Kumar 6-34) trail Karnataka395/6 (Shreyas Gopal 80*, CM Gautam 79, Mayank Agarwal 78; Shivam Dube 5-79) by 222 runs.
Akshay KC's five-wicket haul shot down Vidarbha for just 246 on the second day at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. Kerala, however, lost two wickets in the seven overs they had to face and have just 32 on the board.
Starting the day on 45 for 3, Vidarbha soon slipped to 95 for 6 with Jalaj Saxena and Akshay doing the damage. It was the 74-run stand between Akshay Wadkar (53) and Aditya Sarwate (36) that helped the team recover a bit and reach 169 before the latter became the seventh wicket to fall.
The lower order frustrated Kerala bowlers as Akshay Wakhare (27 not out) and Lalit Yadav (24) stitched a 53-run stand for the last wicket to push the team total past 240. In reply, Kerala lost Mohammed Azharuddeen and nightwatchman Sandeep Warrier early.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 246 (Akshay Wadkar 53; Akshay KC 5-66) lead Kerala32/2 by 214 runs.
Harpreet Singh Bhatia's unbeaten 107 helped Madhya Pradesh post 338 on the second day but Delhi came up with a strong reply with the bat, ending the day on 180 for 2 at the Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground.
At 223 for 6, Delhi would have hoped to end MP's innings soon but Bhatia rallied along with the lower order to take the score past 300 and post his seventh first-class ton.
Though Ishwar Pandey nipped out Gautam Gambhir early on, Kunal Chandela (73 not out) and Dhruv Shorey (78) scored 145 for the second wicket to propel the team ahead. Shorey fell to Ankit Sharma late in the day but Chandela ensured Delhi walked away as the happier side.
Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 338 (Harpreet Bhatia 107; Manan Sharma 4-46) lead Delhi180/2 (Dhruv Shorey 78, Kunal Chandela 73*) by 158 runs.
Boddupalli Amit and Ishan Porel dented Gujarat as the defending champions were reduced to 180 for 6 in response to Bengal's first innings total of 354 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Amit (36) and Aamir Gani (49) helped Bengal post a challenging total after starting the day on 261 for 6. Ishwar Chaudhary's five-wicket haul ended the innings.
Gujarat lost their openers with just 17 on the board but Bhargav Merai (67) and Parthiv Patel (47) brought the innings back on track with a 107-run stand. However, once Porel dismissed Parthiv, the Gujarat innings nosedived and slipped to 144 for 6 from 124 for 4.
Brief scores: Bengal 261/6 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 129, Anustup Majumdar 94; Ishwar Chaudhary 5/87) lead Gujarat180/6 (Bhargav Merai 67; Boddupalli Amit 3-46) by 174 runs.
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