Fifteen out of the 19 matches in round three of the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy produced outright results. This included a sweet first for Saurashtra, thrilling wins for Assam and defending champs Madhya Pradesh, and some noteworthy individual performances. Here’s a recap.
Vidarbha were cruising to their third straight win in the competition, but Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) had other ideas in Nagpur. Chasing 141, Vidarbha were in an excellent position at 97 for 3, before losing seven wickets for four runs in 28 deliveries. They eventually folded for 101. The wrecker-in-chief was left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq, who finished with sensational figures of 8 for 18. The loss consigned Vidarbha to third place in Group D, while J&K lifted themselves off the bottom with their first win.
Saurashtra’s first
Over the years, Mumbai vs Saurashtra has been one-sided. The finals in 2012-13 and 2015-16 were both wrapped up by Mumbai inside three days. Several Saurashtra players admitted to having a mental block. But things have changed. Ever since Saurashtra lifted the Ranji Trophy in 2019-20 season, they have been a team on the upswing across formats.
R Samarth, Karnataka’s 29-year-old opener, is in the form of his life. He’s hit three centuries in three matches so far this season to single-handedly steer his team’s batting. His latest hundred, a 238-ball 140 that also happens to be his 13th first-class century, laid the foundation for a mammoth first-innings total that helped Karnataka take first-innings honours against Goa.
After the knock, Pandey spoke of drawing inspiration from David Warner, who battled poor form and immense selection pressure before breaking the rut with a magnificent double-ton against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test.
Karnataka may look back at the Goa game and wonder if they delayed their first-innings declaration by a bit. They are in a tight race with Kerala and Chhattisgarh for the top two qualifying spots from Group C. All three sides have 13 points in three matches, but Karnataka have just one outright vis-a-vis two by Kerala and Chhattisgarh.
Riyan Parag is proving to be quite a handy allrounder. That India don’t have top-order batters who can bowl lately has got him to focus more on his secondary skills with the ball, and the efforts are showing. He not only picked up eight wickets with his legbreaks and wrong’uns, but also made a bruising 28-ball 78 in the second innings – courtesy eight fours and six sixes – to help Assam swell their lead against Hyderabad. Then, defending 250, Hyderabad were on course at 171 for 4 when Parag made a splash with the ball. His three quick wickets detailed their chase, with Assam clinching a thriller by 18 runs for their first win this season which keeps them in the hunt for the top two in Group B.
Meghalaya conceded a 97-run lead to Bihar but hit back sensationally to bowl their opponents out for 99 and knock off their 200-run target with four wickets in hand. This gave them a third straight win that has vaulted them to the top of the standings. Sikkim, who conceded an 87-run lead to Mizoram, are second after they pulled off a coup. Having shot Mizoram out for 156 in the second innings, Sikkim got to their target of 244 with four wickets in hand.
Leading run-getter after round three (Elite): Dhruv Shorey (Delhi): six innings, 579 runs, average 144.75, two hundreds, two fifties
Plate: Taruwar Kohli (Mizoram): five innings, 510 runs, average 102, two hundreds, two fifties
Leading wicket-taker (Elite): Jalaj Saxena (Kerala): 26 wickets in six innings, average 16.34, three five-fors
Leading wicket taker (Plate): Rajesh Bishnoi (Meghalaya): 26 wickets in six innings, average 9.57, three five-fors
