Ranji Trophy 2023-24, Round 1 Day 3: Cheteshwar Pujara Hits Double Century; Puduchery Inch Closer To Historic Win Over Delhi

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Out-of-favour India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara is letting his bat do the talking as the Saurashtra batter slammed his 17th double century in first-class cricket against Jharkhand in Group A on Day 3 (Sunday, January 7) of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Round 1 in Rajkot.

Cheteshwar Pujrara, who resumed at 157 on Day 3, finished with 243 not out off 356 balls as Saurashtra declared their first innings at 578 for four, replying to Jharkhand's 142 all to take a commanding 436-run advantage. Prerak Mankad (104 not out of 176) reached his second first-class hundred, at which point the declaration was made.

After batting with a much greater purpose in the second innings, Jharkhand openers Kumar Deobrat (74 not out off 130) and Nazim Siddique (45 off 51) were reduced to 140 for two at stumps on the third day of play by medium pacer Mankad's double strikes. Jharkhand are still 296 runs behind Saurashtra.

It was Pujara's eighth double hundred in Ranji Trophy and 17th first-class double ton. It ties him up with Herbert Sutcliffe and Mark Ramprakash. He is now behind only the great Don Bradman (37), Wally Haymond (36) and Patsy Hendren (22). The 35-year-old also has three triple hundreds in first-class cricket.

Brief scores

In Rajkot: Jharkhand 142 in 49 overs and 140/2 in 45 overs (Kumar Deobrat 74 batting; Prerak Mankad 2/12) vs Saurashtra 578/4 decl in 156 overs (Harvik Desai 85, Sheldon Jackson 54, Cheteshwar Pujara 243 not out, Prerak Mankad 104 not out).

In Solapur: Manipur 137 in 54.1 overs & 114 all out in 55.2 overs (Hitesh Walunj 3/11, Siddhesh Veer 4/10) vs Maharashtra 320 in 81.2 overs. Maharashtra won by innings and 69 runs.

In Nagpur: Services 241 and 155 all out vs Vidarbha 219 and 45/0 in 14 overs (Faiz Fazal batting 20, Sanjay Raghunath batting 25).

In Rohtak: Haryana 100/6 in 52 overs (Rohit Pramod Sharma batting 38; Aniket Choudhary 2/15, Manav Suthar 2/23). Rajasthan (bad light impacted play again).

Group D: Puducherry close on big win over Delhi

In their Ranji Trophy Group D match in New Delhi on Sunday, Puducherry was on the verge of a convincing away victory thanks to medium-pacer Abin Matthew (4/30), who sliced through the Delhi top-order. Delhi's second innings began in difficult conditions with Mathew removing Himmat Singh (5), Lakshay Thareja (24), and captain Yash Dhull (23), leaving the hosts reeling at 84/6 and down by 96 runs.

Both Saurabh Yadav (2/43) and Gaurav Yadav (2/39) shared bowling duties, taking two wickets apiece. Delhi finished the day with 126/8 in 40 overs, leading by just 30 runs, although Hrithik Shokeen managed to muster some opposition with 19 runs.

MP sniff win vs Uttarakhand

Madhya Pradesh declared their second innings at 243/3 in Dehradun, laying down a formidable 376 mark for Uttarakhand. The innings was driven by Yash Dubey's strong 59 and Shubham Sharma's outstanding 86. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh made 323 in their first innings thanks to a tremendous century (100) from Saransh Jain and an 89 from Venkatesh Iyer.

After resuming at 170/6, Uttarakhand collapsed for 192, with MP spinner Kumar Kartikeya emerging as the standout performer with 4/59. Uttarakhand, needing 368 runs on the last day, finished the day at 7/1, facing an uphill battle.

Brief Scores in Group D

In Delhi: Delhi 148 and 126/8; 40 overs (Abin Mathew 4/30, Saurabh Yadav 2/43, Gaurav Yadav 2/39). Puducherry 244; 63.3 overs (Paras Ratnaparkhe 60, Krishna Pandey 44; Hrithik Shokeen 4/46, Himanshu Chauhan 3/60, Navdeep Saini 2/54). Delhi need 30 runs.

In Dehradun: Madhya Pradesh 323 and 243/3 declared; 68 overs (Shubham Sharma 86, Yash Dubey 59, Venkatesh Iyer 53). Uttarakhand 192; 81.5 overs (Dikshanshu Negi 53, Aditya Tare 45; Kumar Kartikeya 4/59, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/42, Saransh Jain 2/46) and 7/1; 3.2 overs. Uttarakhand need 368 runs.

In Vadodara: Baroda 351 and 258/4 declared; 61 overs (Shashwat Rawat 102, Vishnu Solanki 79). Odisha 178 and 103/1; 40 overs. Odisha 103/1; 40 overs (Anurag Sarangi 56, Shantanu Mishra 41). Odisha need 329 runs.

In Jammu: Jammu & Kashmir 100. Himachal Pradesh 120/1; 30 overs (Prashant Chopra 48 batting, Ankit Kalsi 40 batting). Himachal Pradesh lead by 20 runs.

Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Group B: Aryan Juyal scores century to extend UP lead

In an impressive century to support the bowlers, captain Aryan Juyal helped Uttar Pradesh extend their lead over Kerala by 278 runs in Alappuzha. After resuming at 220 for six, Kerala could only manage 23 more runs before conceding a 59-run lead to Uttar Pradesh as the hosts were dismissed for 243. Ankit Rajpoot, a pacer (5/64) took the final four wickets to secure a fifer.

Uttar Pradesh's second innings got off to a terrific start thanks to an opening partnership of 89 runs between Samarth Singh (43), and Juyal (115*). Samarth was dismissed by Jalaj Saxena, but Juyal and Priyam Garg (49*) added an undefeated 120-run partnership to put the team ahead.

Ricky Bhui's ton headlines Andhra's fightback vs Bengal

Ricky Bhui (107) led Andhra Pradesh's comeback against Bengal in the other Group B match in Visakhapatnam, hitting an undefeated hundred to take the side to 339 for six. After resuming the day at 119 for 3, Andhra lost just three wickets, thanks to a fourth-wicket stand of 87 runs between Bhui and captain Hanuma Vihari (51).

With one day remaining, Andhra trailed Bengal by 70 runs after that, despite two more respectable partnerships. With a few wickets each, Mohammed Kaif and Akash Deep have emerged as Bengal's rising stars thus far.

Brief scores of all Group B encounters:

In Alappuzha: Uttar Pradesh 302 & 219-1 (Aryan Juyal 115 not out; Jalaj Saxena 1/52) leads Kerala 243 (Vishnu Vinod 74; Ankit Rajpoot 5/64) by 278 runs.

In Visakhapatnam: Bengal 409 (Sourav Paul 96, Anustup Majumdar 125, Abishek Porel 70; Lalith Mohan 4/134) leads Andhra 339-6 (Hanuma Vihari 51, Ricky Bhui 107; Mohammed Kaif 2/37) by 70 runs.

In Patna: Mumbai 251 (Bhupen Lalwani 65, Suved Parkar 50, Tanush Kotian 50; Veer Pratap Singh 5/45) leads Bihar 100 & 91-6 (Sharman Nigrodh 40; Shivam Dube 4/7) by 60 runs.

In Raipur: Chhattisgarh 327 (Ashutosh Singh 58, Amandeep Khare 116, Shashank Singh 82; Akash Sengupta 2/45) leads Assam 159 & 171-5 (Riyan Parag 82 batting; Jivesh Butte 2/35) by 3 runs.

Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Group C: Prabhsimran, Abhishek lead Punjab fightback against Karnataka

In Elite Group C encounter in Hubballi (Karnataka) on Sunday, Punjab managed to mount a late fight against Karnataka, thanks to an aggressive century from Prabhsimran Singh. Punjab finished their second innings at 238 for three. Prabhsimran scored an even hundred off 146 balls with 17 boundaries, and opening partner Abhishek Sharma (91, 123 balls, 9x4, 3x6) provided him with excellent support.

With Prabhsimran and Sharma combining for 192 runs in just 44.3 overs, Punjab erased a significant portion of their 362-run deficit after conceding a huge first innings advantage. Punjab is still behind by 124 runs, though. Karnataka had earlier declared their first innings at 514 for eight after resuming from their 461 for six overnight.

Brief scores in Group C:

In Hubballi: Punjab: 152 all out and 2nd innings: 238/3 in 68 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 100, Abhishek Sharma 91) vs Karnataka 514/8 declared in 140 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 193, Manish Pandey 118, S. Sharath 76; Arshdeep Singh 3/92).

In Valsad: Gujarat 236 all out & 2nd innings: 312 all out in 84 overs (Ripal Patel 81, Umang Kumar 89, Manan Hingrajia 52; Sai Kishore 4/53, Sandeep Warrier 3/51) vs Tamil Nadu 250 all out & 2nd innings: 32/2 in 15 overs.

In Agartala: Tripura: 484 all out & 2nd Innings: 151/5 declared in 33.4 overs (Bikram Kumar Das 45; Darshan Misal 3/48) vs Goa: 135 all out in 48.5 overs (Deepraj Gaonkar 41; AK Sarkar 4/24, Rana Datta 3/41, Mura Singh 3/40) & 2nd Innings: 48/3 in 20 overs.