On Day 2 of the knockout round of Ranji Trophy 2016/17, we saw a surprising result as Tamil Nadu stunned Karnataka, despite the fact the latter were fully loaded with international stars. Not just this, there were many other twists and turns. Here is the summary of Day 2 –
Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu
The much-talked game between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which was supposed to be the highlight of this round, ended on Day 2, with Tamil Nadu pulling off an upset.
Karnataka squad had the likes of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, R. Vinay Kumar, Stuart Binny and Abhimanyu Mithun but this could do no harm to Tamil Nadu as their bowlers ran through Karnataka’s batting line-up twice.
Tamilnadu!!!???well done @mukundabhinav @DineshKarthik @vijayshankar260 @aparajithbaba @IndrajithBaba @tncricketteam
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) December 24, 2016
In the second innings, Karnataka played the same amount of overs as they played in the first innings but scored just 62 runs more than their first innings total and it was not enough as Tamil Nadu chased down the target of 87 with seven wickets to spare.
With this, they advanced to the semi-final stage, presenting a perfect present to Dinesh Karthik, who was playing his 100th Ranji Trophy game.
Gujarat vs Odisha
Just like Odisha, Gujarat bowlers too took advantage of the pitch. They’ve already scalped eight wickets and are still 79 runs ahead of Odisha. Jasprit Bumrah was the star with the ball as he affected four dismissals, helping Gujarat gain the upper hand. By scalping four wickets for just 33 runs, Bumrah just did not help Gujarat but also presented his case for a place in Test squad too.
He was well supported with Rush Kalaria, who contributed 73 runs with the bat as well. Gujarat now has an even chance of gaining first innings lead but still this game can tilt in anyone’s favour at any time due to the dicey nature of the pitch.
Jharkhand vs Haryana
Despite taking early wickets, Haryana bowlers failed to cash upon the opportunity and now it is Jharkhand, who are in a steady position. They are now just 49 runs away from Haryana’s total with seven wickets in their hand, and now hold a strong chance of gaining the first innings lead, which will provide them with a psychological advantage over Haryana.
Virat Singh, who wasn’t taken to Bangladesh for the U-19 World Cup earlier this year, for the showed that he has the ability to play under pressure. He stood tall against the star-studded bowling line-up of Haryana and batted accordingly, adjusting to the need. He is batting at a score of 74* and hold a chance to score his second first-class century.
It was a disappointing day for Haryana bowlers as star bowlers like Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal could just take a wicket each whereas Mohit Sharma, the skipper, under bowled himself.
Mumbai vs Hyderabad
On Day 1, skipper Aditya Tare and Siddesh Lad recuperated the Mumbai team from early stutters and poor start. It looked like Mumbai had gained momentum and will cash it but a fighting innings from both senior batsmen went in vain as they could add only 44 runs and lost their remaining five wickets. Mohammed Siraj played a crucial role in dismantling the Mumbai batting line-up as he aided other bowlers quite well with his two back to back wickets.
Just Like Hyderabad, Mumbai bowlers too had a great start with two quick wickets but if it were Tare and Lad for Mumbai, then it was Subramaniam Badrinath and Tanmay Agarwal for Hyderabad who stood at the crease for long. Their partnership of 105 for the third wicket helped Hyderabad reach a safe total.
Shardul Thakur disappointed as he could not grab any scalp and it was Abhishek Nayar, who took three wickets.