The 2024/25 season of the Ranji Trophy has already thrown some sparkling performances, with teams still jostling for supremacy in the domestic circle. There were brilliant individual performances that turned the games around and thrilling twists on the third day of the matches in round two of this season.
Day Three Highlights from Round Two
Let’s look deeper into day three of the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy that went down across the Elite Groups.
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Elite Group A: Tripura and Maharashtra Shine
It was a great day for Tripura in Elite Group A as they declared their innings at 377-8, the highlight of which was Sridam Paul’s brilliant 146. In reply, Meghalaya were bowled out for 222 courtesy of a fine performance by Tripura’s bowlers, mainly Manisankar Murasingh, who took 6-52. Tripura then enforced the follow-on and managed to restrict Meghalaya to 3-0 at stumps with an enormous lead of 152 runs still in hand.
A brilliant 145 by Ruturaj Gaikwad stole the show for Maharashtra and helped his side reach 388 in the second innings. Other vital contributions came from Ankit Bawne, who made 101, and Sachin Dhas, who made 98. A modest target of 74 runs was set by Maharashtra for their opponents after Mumbai posted 441 in their first innings. By stumps, the Mumbai team had already managed 13 runs without losing any wicket.
Baroda continued the domination over the Services and declared their second innings at 134-1, thus setting a mammoth target of 341 runs for Services to win. Bhargav Bhatt, who was promoted as a pinch-hitter, did provide a brisk start. At the close of play, Services had reached 3-0.
It was a Govinda Poddar unbeaten 133 that helped Odisha take slender two-run first innings lead over Jammu & Kashmir. But it was Abdul Samad, who starred in the second innings for J&K, his 70 helped them reach 195-4 and set a 193 run lead by stumps.
Elite Group B: Rajasthan Secures Victory
Rajasthan bowlers put on a clinical show to shoot out Himachal Pradesh for 260 in Group B, once Aniket Choudhary pegged 5-66 and Manav Suthar clinched four scalps. After a dicey chase, Rajasthan won with 26-2, sealing an eight-wicket win.
Andhra Pradesh, bundled out for 213 in the first innings, fared slightly better in the follow-on to reach 203-4 stumps courtesy Abhishek Reddy’s 81. Gujarat’s Chintan Gaja remained in his element, picking 4-75 in the first innings before snaring three more wickets in the second.
Hyderabad, which was up against Uttarakhand, managed to reach 292 in its first innings with a fine 94 by Rahul Radesh. Uttarakhand, which managed a strong second innings lead of 222 runs by the close of play, reached 189-5.
The Vidarbha bowlers went on to take turn and throttle Puducherry, bowling them out for 209 to take an important first-innings lead. Vidarbha’s troubles, however, were far from over as they slipped to 25 for three in their second innings by stumps on day three, their overall lead an uneasy 99.
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Elite Group C: Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in Command
Working on the first-innings lead, Punjab went all guns blazing against Madhya Pradesh. Jaskaranvir Singh Paul played an authoritative knock at 115 not out when Punjab declared at 265/3, thereby setting a total lead of 335 runs. Since much time is remaining in the match, Punjab will also try to push for the win on day four.
The fightback was staged as Uttar Pradesh reached 267-6 by stumps in the match against Haryana, courtesy of Aryan Juyal’s unbeaten 118. Still trailing Haryana by 186 runs, UP will try to cut down the lead further on the last day.
Unfortunately, rain continued to dog the Bengal-Bihar match as no play was possible for the third successive day, while a wet outfield ensured that no action could take place in the Kerala-Karnataka match.
Elite Group D: Yash Dhull’s Revival for Delhi
In Group D, Tamil Nadu’s massive first-innings total of 674-6 loomed over Delhi, who were struggling at 264-8 by stumps. The bright spot for Delhi was Yash Dhull’s unbeaten 103, marking a return to form for the young captain. Delhi faces, however, an uphill task of a 410-run deficit and will need a miracle to get out of this tie without a loss.
A huge Chhattisgarh total of 578-7 against Saurashtra ensured that they were always in control of the game. Saurashtra’s reply was led by the stalwarts Cheteshwar Pujara 75* and Sheldon Jackson 53* as the team reached 177-2 by stumps, still trailing by 401 runs, needing a massive effort from hereon to avoid defeat.
Then, the latter lost seven second-innings wickets after Chandigarh had earlier taken a first-innings lead of over 100 runs. At stumps, Assam were 144-7, with Jagjit Singh Sandhu being brilliant with the leather and picking up 4-39 to leave his opposition struggling with just a 36-run lead.
Railways had a good day’s work in reply to Jharkhand, fighting back from 19-1 to 320-4 by stumps, a deficit of just 97 runs. An excellent 113 from Mohammad Saif and a good 75 by Vivek Singh were the cornerstones of the Railways’ response.
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Conclusion
The 2024/25 Ranji Trophy is gathering pace, with the third day of the second round throwing up thrilling performances and hard-fought contests. Teams jostling for position saw players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abdul Samad, and Yash Dhull delivering standout performances that will shape their team’s fortunes. Though still in its early days, with so much at stake, each day has brought drama and excitement to the fore.
And, of course, for the fans who follow the action so assiduously, there’s a lot more in store.
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