Young wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra completed a brilliant double century as Jharkhand scored a mammoth 500-plus score and struck early blows to put Baroda on the mat, on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match, in Vadodara on Sunday.
Playing in his 29th first-class match, the 21-year-old Kushagra, who was bought by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2024 for an eye-popping Rs 7.2 crore before he moved to Gujarat Titans for IPL 2025, struck 234 off 367 balls as Jharkhand were bowled out for 506 in 140 overs.
Jharkhand right-arm pacer Sahil Raj (2/15) then reduced Baroda to 78 for three as the table-toppers tightened their grip on the opponents.
Jharkhand, resuming at 327 for five, made the Baroda bowlers toil with overnight batter Kushagra, who had scored 133 on Day 1, completing a double ton and sharing a 118-run partnership with Sahil Raj (39) for the seventh wicket.
Kushagra was unlucky to miss out on his career-best first-class score of 266 as he was dismissed by Bhargav Bhatt. Kushagra smashed 23 boundaries and four sixes during his nearly two-day long stay at the crease.
After his dismissal, the Jharkhand tail could add just seven more runs.
Baroda suffered an early jolt with Sahil dismissing Jyotsnil Singh for a first-ball duck before he had Sukrit Pandey for 6. With opener Shivalik Sharma too departing on 23, Baroda were precariously placed at 35 for 3.
However, Shashwat Rawat (20 not out) and Vishnu Solanki (28 not out) batted out the remaining overs. Baroda are trailing Jharkhand by 428 runs.
Brief scores:
In Vadodara: Jharkhand 506 all out (Kumar Kushagra 234, Virat Singh 46, Robin Minz 79; Mahesh Pithiya 3/156, Rasikh Dar Salam 2/83, Bhargav Bhatt 3/123) vs Baroda 78 for 3 (Sahil Raj 2/15).
In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 535 for 6 decl (Abhishek Goswami 55, Madhav Kaushik 185, Aryan Juyal 140, Shivam Mavi 101 not out; Rongsen Jonathan 4/150) vs Nagaland 77 for 4 (Dega Nischal 42; Shivam Mavi 2/17).
In Nagpur: Vidarbha 286 all out (Dhruv Shorey 144, Ravikumar Samarth 49; Sambit Baral 3/69, Rajesh Mohanty 2/57) vs Odisha 122 for 6 (Subhranshu Senapati 41; Gaurav Farde 2/20).
In Visakhapatnam: Tamil Nadu 182 all out & 102 for 3 (Balasubramaniam Sachin 51) vs Andhra 177 all out (Shaik Rasheed 87 not out; Sandeep Warrier 4/53, Trilok Nag 2/50, Sai Kishore 2/38).
Mumbai's Himanshu leaves HP reeling
Lanky spinner Himanshu Singh (3/26) made the most of a spin-friendly surface in Mumbai to leave Himachal Pradesh reeling at 94/7, trailing by 352 runs in the first innings of their Elite Group D clash against Mumbai.
Mumbai, who had resumed at 289/5, were bowled out for 446 in the first essay following centuries from Musheer Khan (112) and Siddhesh Lad (127), with all-rounder Shams Mulani scoring 69 (122 balls, 9x4s) and Tushar Deshpande making a late 38.
In reply, Himachal Pradesh batters were all at sea when Deshpande had their skipper Ankush Bains (1) and Ankit Kalsi (8) caught behind while Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur pinned Siddhant Purohit in front of the wickets.
But the real damage was caused by right-arm off-spinner Himanshu, who made the most of a spin-friendly track at the BKC Ground to end the resistance of No. 4 Pukhraj Mann (34), and scalped two more in the form of Ekant Sen (15) and Mayank Dagar (5).
Nikhil Gangta (27 not out) was at the crease in company of Vipin Sharma as Himachal Pradesh were battling to avoid a follow-on.
In New Delhi, skipper Paras Dogra (106) and Abdul Samad's (85) gritty knocks gave visitors Jammu and Kashmir a vital 99-run lead in the first innings against hosts Delhi, who were 7/0 in their second innings and trailing by another 92 runs.
After bowling Delhi out for 211 on the opening day, Jammu and Kashmir were left struggling at 31 for three at the close of play on the first day.
The visitors slipped to 46 for four in the first hour on Day 2, but a 141-run stand between Dogra (106 off 183 balls, 11x4s, 1x6s) and Samad (85 off 112 balls, 12x4s, 1x6s) helped them stage a strong recovery.
Jammu and Kashmir were eventually bowled out for 310 with Simarjeet Singh returning figures of 16.2-1-52-6.
Simarjeet had struck thrice on the opening day evening to tilt the balance back in favour for his side and produced three more wickets on the second day, but his effort was not enough for Delhi.
In Hyderabad, Rajasthan clambered to 221 for five in reply to Hyderabad's 364 in the first innings, trailing by another 143 runs.
The in-form Deepak Hooda fell for 17 but wicketkeeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore's unbeaten 64 held one end strongly.
In Raipur, Pondicherry responded with 108 for two in reply to hosts Chhattisgarh's 377 in the first innings as they were trailing by another 269 runs.
Chhattisgarh were bolstered by wicketkeeper-batter Mayank Verma's fine 121 not out (203 balls, 17x4s).
Brief scores:
In Mumbai: Mumbai 446 all out (Musheer Khan 112, Siddhesh Lad 127, Shams Mulani 69; Mayank Dagar 4/111) vs Himachal Pradesh 94/7 (Pukhraj Mann 34; Tushar Deshpande 2/21, Himanshu Singh 3/26).
In New Delhi: Delhi 211 all out & 7/0 (Arpit Rana 2 not out, Sanat Sangwan 5 not out) vs Jammu and Kashmir 310 all out (Paras Dogra 106, Abdul Samad 85, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 47; Simarjeet Singh 6/52).
In Hyderabad: Hyderabad 364 all out (Rahul Singh Gahlaut 55, Rahul Radesh 129; Ashok Sharma 3/89) vs Rajasthan 221/5 (Kunal Singh Rathore 64 not out, Kukna Ajay Singh 42 not out; Anikethreddy 2/50).
In Raipur: Chhattisgarh 377 all out (Sanjeet Desai 69, Mayank Verma 121 not out; Puneet Datey 3/71, Sagar Udeshi 3/74) vs Pondicherry 108/2 (Paras Ratnaparkhe 47 not out; Ravi Kiran 1/25).
Shankar, Vihari tons put Tripura in command
Vijay Shankar struck a career-best 150 not out at No. 7 to complement Hanuma Vihari's fine 156 as Tripura piled up a mammoth total to seize control of their Elite Group C match against Assam in Agartala.
Shankar, who switched allegiance from Tamil Nadu to Tripura this season, batted with authority in his first major knock for his new team.
He remained unbeaten on 150 off 143 balls, studded with 14 fours and four sixes, as the hosts declared at 602 for seven.
In reply, Assam were 67 for four at stumps, still trailing by 535 runs with six wickets intact. Pacer Abhijit Sarkar impressed for Tripura with figures of 2/10.
Earlier, Tripura resumed the day at 316 for four with Vihari unbeaten on 143 overnight. He converted his innings into a fluent 156 (228 balls, 18x4, 2x6) before being dismissed.
Wicketkeeper-batter Sentu Sarkar also notched up a fighting 51 off 98 balls (8x4) to keep the runs flowing.
Shankar later took charge alongside skipper Manisankar Murasingh in an entertaining 87-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Murasingh chipped in with a brisk 52 from 54 balls (3x4, 3x6) as Tripura's lower order continued to dominate.
For Assam, Darshan Rajbongshi (3/83) was the pick of the bowlers, while Ayushman Malakar (2/106) provided support. Left-arm spinner Rahul Singh toiled for 40 overs for a solitary wicket.
Majumdar, Gupta tons lift Bengal
In Surat, Bengal pacer Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal produced a fiery spell of 4/17 to leave Railways reeling at 97 for five in reply to Bengal's 474, brightening the visitors' prospects for a third outright win this season.
Railways still trail by 377 runs with half their side back in the pavilion and two days remaining.
The platform was set by Bengal's Anustup Majumdar (135) and Sumanta Gupta (120), who powered the side to a commanding first-innings total.
Gupta's effort was his maiden first-class century, and the duo's partnership helped Bengal recover after resuming the day at 273 for five.
Majumdar's 182-ball knock included 15 fours, while Gupta struck 15 boundaries and two sixes during his 153-ball stay. Later, contributions from Vishal Bhati (36) and Rahul Prasad (40 not out) took Bengal to a formidable total.
In reply, Jaiswal struck with the second ball of the innings to remove Zubair Ali for a duck, before dismissing Vivek Singh, Mohammad Saif and skipper Pratham Singh (11) in quick succession to leave Railways tottering at 16 for four.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who earlier scored 86 with the bat, got the fifth wicket by dismissing Suraj Ahuja late in the day.
Gujarat, Services evenly poised
In Nadiad, the match between Gujarat and Services hung in balance as the hosts reached 171 for four in reply to Services' 248 all out, still 77 runs behind.
Resuming at 203 for eight, the Services' tail frustrated Gujarat with a valuable 30-run ninth-wicket stand between Arjun Sharma (20) and Amit Shukla (25 not out). Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai (5/74) completed a fine five-wicket haul to wrap up the innings.
In response, Gujarat's openers Abhishek Desai and Aarya Desai began watchfully before wickets tumbled in quick succession. At stumps, Kshitij Patel (18 batting) and Urvil Patel (37 batting) steadied the innings with an unbeaten stand.
Uttarakhand seize control
In Rohtak, Haryana were struggling at 105 for six in their second innings, still trailing 71 runs, after conceding a big lead to Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand earlier posted 288 in reply to Haryana's 112, riding on contributions from Yuvraj Chaudhary (60) and J Suchith (50). For Haryana, Parth Vats (3/60) and Nikhil Kashyap (3/67) shared six wickets.
At close, Dheeru Singh (31 not out) was fighting a lone battle for Haryana, while Suchith continued to impress with the ball, returning 3/30 in his second innings spell.
Brief scores:
In Agartala: Tripura 602/7 declared (Hanuma Vihari 156, Vijay Shankar 150 not out, Sentu Sarkar 94, Manisankar Murasingh 52; Darshan Rajbongshi 3/83) vs Assam 67/4 (Abhijit Sarkar 2/10).
In Surat: Bengal 474 all out (Anustup Majumdar 135, Sumanta Gupta 120, Shahbaz Ahmed 86, Rahul Prasad 40 not out; Kunal Yadav 4/98) vs Railways 97/5 (Bhargav Merai 37 not out, Upendra Yadav 20 not out; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 4/17).
In Nadiad: Services 248 all out (Rajat Paliwal 36; Siddharth Desai 5/74) vs Gujarat 171/4 (Abhishek Desai 44; Amit Shukla 2/54).
In Rohtak: Haryana 112 all out 105/6 (Dheeru Singh 31 not out; J Suchith 3/30) vs Uttarakhand 288 all out (Yuvraj Chaudhary 60, J Suchith 50; Parth Vats 3/60, Nikhil Kashyap 3/67).
Shreyas puts Karnataka in command
Maharashtra batter Prithvi Shaw struck a fighting half-century on his birthday but Shreyas Gopal gave Karnataka the upper hand with a four-wicket haul and plucky 71 on day two of the Group B match in Nashik.
Resuming the day at 257 for five, Gopal (71 off 162) guided Karnataka to 313 all out in their first innings. Captain Mayank Agarwal had made 80 at the top of the order.
When Maharashtra came out to bat, leg-spinner Gopal got four important wickets as Maharashtra ended the day at 200 for six, trailing Karnataka by 113 runs.
Shaw, who smashed a double hundred earlier this season, carried Maharashtra's fight before falling to Mohsin Khan.
Jalaj Saxena and Vicky Ostwal were batting on 34 and four respectively.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Saurashtra found themselves on the back foot after an underwhelming first-innings effort of 160 all out.
Kerala were able to make 233 in response, taking a first-innings lead of 73 runs. Baba Aparajith top-scored for Kerala with 69 while captain Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the Saurashtra bowlers with four wickets.
In their second innings, Saurashtra were 47 for one in 17 over trailing Kerala by 26 runs at close of play.
Brief scores:
In Mangalapuram: Saurashtra 160 all out and 47 for 1 (Jay Gohil 84; MD Nidheesh 6/20) vs Kerala 233 all out (Rohan Kunnummal 80; Hiten Kanbi 2/53, Jaydev Unadkat 4/42).
In Pune: Karnataka 313 all out (Mayank Agarwal 80, Ravichandran Smaran 54, Shreyas Gopal 71; Jalaj Saxena 4/94) vs Maharashtra 200 for six (Prithvi Shaw 71; Shreyas Gopal 4/46).
In Porvorim: Goa 284 all out (Suyash Prabhudessai 65; Saransh Jain 4/78) vs Madhya Pradesh 181 for seven (Saransh Jain 48; Koushik 3/33).
In Chandigarh: Chandigarh 173 all out and 168 for 7 (Manan Vohra 32, Ankit Kaushik 38; vs Punjab 142 all out (Nishunk Birla 4/18).