Ranji Trophy 2014-15: Yuvraj Singh slams ton for Punjab, Assam registers win

Assam posted the first win of the season with a comprehensive ten-wicket victory over Tripura on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 season. In their match against Haryana, Yuvraj Singh slammed a century to set-up the match in Punjab’s favour. Here’s the round-up for the day: (Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2014-15: Gautam Gambhir scores 123*, Yuvraj Singh 59 on Day 1)

Assam vs Tripura: Assam cantered to a ten-wicket win against Tripura to claim seven points from their season opener. Dheeraj Jadhav-led side bowled the opposition out for 155 in the second innings and then attained the 16-run target with ease. Krishna Das claimed 7/50 to bowl the opposition out and set-up the victory for his side in Guwahati. 

Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu: Having already secured a first innings lead, Karnataka were 247/4 in the second innings at stumps on the pen-ultimate day of the match. 

The Vinay Kumar-led side claimed five TN wickets on the third day to bowl them out for 274 after resuming on 240/5. After overnight batsman R Prasanna was run out, Sreenath Aravind claimed three wickets to finish with a four-wicket haul while the captain picked one to claim a first innings lead. Robin Uthappa and Mayank Agarwal then put up a 163-run opening stand before the former was sent back by Malolan Rangarajan. Manish Pandey was batting on 33 with Stuart Binny on five at the end of day's play.

Baroda vs Bengal: Bengal bowled Baroda out for 354 to secure a first innings lead in the match. Resuming on 86/3, Deepak Hooda's 114 was instrumental in helping the hosts past 300 but not enough to claim a lead. At stumps, Bengal were 8/1 in the second innings.

Mumbai vs J & K: Mumbai captain Suryakumar Yadav's 114 helped Mumbai to 253 in the second innings before being bowled out. Reduced to 66/4 on the second day, the hosts recovered to set J&K a 236-run target. Ram Dayal finished with a fivr-for while Umar Nazir picked four in Mumbai's second innings. Chasing the decent target, J&K were 58/1 at stumps and need 178 to win on the last day of the game.

Railways vs Madhya Pradesh: Resuming on 253/7, Railways were bowled out for 280 after having secured a first innings lead in the four-day game. MP, who were bowled out for 181 in their first innings, put up a better performance in the second and were 212/5 at stumps. With Rameez Khan (15*) and Zafar Ali in the middle when play ended on Tuesday, they were leading by 113 runs.

Maharashtra vs Odisha: Resuming on 126/0 on the third morning, Maharashtra secured a first innings lead before being bowled out for 371 later in the day. Shrikant Mundhe remained not out on 82 as the Rohit Motwani-led side ensured three points for themselves from the season opener. At stumps, Odisha scored one run from two overs with both the openers in the middle.

Punjab vs Haryana: The Group B game is poised in favour of Punjab who have set Haryana a 321-run target. While centurion Yuvraj Singh set-up the game for Punjab, Sandeep Sharma strengthened the team’s position by claiming three wickets in Haryana’s second innings. At stumps Haryana were 26/3 on Day 3. 

Earlier, after resuming on 21/0, Punjab were propelled to 330/6 before declaring their innings by Yuvraj Singh. The all-rounder scored 130 off 160 before being caught by Amit Mishra off his own bowling. Sandeep Sharma then claimed three to reduce the opposition to 6/3 and set the tone for the rest of the match.

Delhi vs Saurashtra: Following on, Saurashtra were trailing by 62 runs with six wickets in hand against the home team at the end of day's play. Bowled out for 217 in the first innings in reply to Delhi's 442, the visitors were asked to follow on. Rajat Bhatia then claimed Chirag Pathak to set the ball rolling while Navdeep Saini, Sumit Narwal and Parwinder Awana picked a wicket each to leave Saurashtra on 163 for the loss of four wickets at stumps.

Kerala vs Goa: At 299/6 in the first innings, Kerala were trailing by 68 runs with four wickets in hand when play ended on Day 3. Amit Verma's 129 before returning to the pavilion has kept the team in fray for securing a first innings lead in the game that is likely to finish in a draw. At stumps, N Surendran was batting on 54 with P Prasanth on three.

Services vs Himachal Pradesh: Services were trailing by 162 runs with seven wickets in hand in the second innings in reply to HP's first innings score of 479. 

Resuming on 255/6, Nikhil Gangta's 99 and Vikramjeet Malik's 51 followed by Pankaj Jaiswal's 41 not out helped HP pile on runs in the first innings. Jaiswal then returned to remove Services' opener Pratik Desai while Rishi Dhawan and Bipul Sharma claimed a wicket each to leave the opposition on 91/3 at stumps.

Andhra Pradesh vs Hyderabad: Following on Andhra were trailing by 129 runs with all wickets in hand at the end of day's play. Resuming on 121 without loss the Mohammad Kaif-led side were bowled out for 369 earlier in the day. After adding just four runs to the overnight total, Srikar Bharat was the first to be sent back. M Ravi Kiran who claimed the opener finished with three wickets while S Quadri picked three more and Chama Milind took two to help enforce the follow-on. Prasanth Kumar made 124 before being run out even as the rest of the line-up caved in to Hyderabad. At stumps on Day 3, the AP openers had taken the team to 24 without loss. 

Rajasthan vs Gujarat: Having bowled Rajasthan out for 195 earlier in the day, Gujarat declared their second innings for 266. A 110-run knock by Priyank Panchal helped Gujarat set the hosts a 412-run target in the match. Ishwar Chaudhary then claimed two while Axar Patel picked one wicket to leave Rajasthan reeling on 34/3 at the end of day's play.

source: bcci.tv