Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Delhi Fight Back After Following-on vs Kerala

Delhi made a solid start to their second essay to end Day 3 at 142/1 after being asked to follow on, in Thiruvananthapuram

After a lacklustre show in the first innings against Kerala in their Ranji Trophy opener, Delhi made a solid start to their second essay to end Day 3 at 142/1 after being asked to follow on, in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Openers Anuj Rawat (87) and Kunal Chandela (51 batting) handed a strong start to Delhi as they shared a 130-run opening stand before the former fell. Skipper Dhruv Shorey (2*) and Chandela were at the crease when stumps were drawn. However, Delhi still trail by 241 runs after Kerala declared at an imposing 525/9 before skittling Delhi out for 142 in the first innings. In Hyderabad, opener Tanmay Agarwal's 96 powered the hosts to 239/6 in their second innings against Gujarat. With a day's play left, Hyderabad lead by 159 runs with Kolla Sumanth (13*) and Tanay Thyagarajan (10*) at the crease. Roosh Kalaria and Axar Patel bagged two wickets each for Gujarat. In Jaipur, a disciplined bowling effort by Punjab rattled the Rajasthan batting line-up in the second innings, with the hosts ending the day at 157/8, taking a slender 56-run lead. Apart from Mahipal Lomror (43), no other Rajasthan batsmen showed any resistance with Sanvir Singh scalping 3 wickets for the visitors. In Vijayawada, after being bundled out for just 211 runs in reply to Vidarbha's 441 in the first innings, hosts Andhra Pradesh were 100/2 at stumps, still trailing by 130 runs. Opener C.R. Gnaneshwar and Ricky Bhui were batting at 42 and 14, respectively, at the close of play. In a low scoring affair in Dharamsala, Saurashtra defeated Himachal Pradesh by five wickets. The hosts managed scores of 120 and 182 in their two innings while Saurashtra replied with scores of 141 and 165/5 to clinch the issue. Harvik Desai (46) and Prerak Mankad (47 not out) steered Saurashtra in the second innings. In Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka were 89/5 against the hosts, taking a 118-run lead in the second innings at the close of play. Devdutt Padikkal (29*) and Sharath BR (25*) were at the crease at the draw of stumps. In Meerut, Uttar Pradesh need 326 runs to register a victory against Railways as the hosts were 26/0 at stumps in the second innings. The hosts had managed 175 in the first innings in reply to Railways' 253 as the visitors again scored a moderate 270 in the second innings, setting a 348-run target for Uttar Pradesh. In Vadodara, Prithvi Shaw's 202 followed by Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten 102 powered Mumbai to 409/4(d) in the second innings against hosts Baroda. Mumbai, who had scored 431 in the first innings, set up a massive 534-run target for Baroda, who were 74/3 at stumps on Day 3. In Agartala, after being enforced the follow-on, Jharkhand, who could only manage 136 in reply to Tripura's 289 in the first innings, were at 91/2 when stumps were drawn on Day 3. In Dehradun, Jammu and Kashmir registered an emphatic 253-run victory over Uttarakhand. After putting 182 on board, the visitors had bundled out Uttarakhand for a paltry 84 before they scored 304 in the second innings, setting a 402-run target for the hosts, who were bowled out for 149 inside three days. Ram Dayal bagged nine wickets in the match for the visitors conceding 86 runs. In Rohtak, Maharashtra are on the verge of a defeat against hosts Haryana. Maharashtra, who could only manage 247 in reply to Haryana's 401 in the first innings, were reeling at 61/5 when the day ended. In Raipur, Odisha beat hosts Chhattisgarh by an innings and 3 runs. In reply to the hosts' 134, Odisha had replied with 215 before wrapping up the hosts for a paltry 78 to set an easy victory. In Sovima in Nagaland, Meghalaya hammered the hosts by 110 runs. Chasing 292 for victory, Nagaland succumbed for 182 as Sanjay Yadav scalped four wickets for 60 runs while Dwaraka Ravi Teja and Puneet Bisht bagged two wickets each. In Kolkata, Manipur emerged victorious against Mizoram as they won by 6 wickets. In reply to Mizoram's 65, Manipur replied with 289, taking a 224-run lead in the first innings. Mizoram, however, showed some fight in the second innings, managing 290 before being all out. Chasing 67 runs for victory, Manipur lost four wickets before overhauling the target. In Porvorim, hosts Goa are on the edge of victory against Sikkim, who were 331/8 at stumps after being asked to follow-on. The visitors have taken a 31-run lead but with just two wickets left, a defeat for them looks unavoidable on Day 4. Hosts Chandigarh thrashed Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 173 runs. After Chandigarh declared for a massive 503/2 in reply to Arunachal's first innings total of 147, the visitors were bundled out for 183 runs in the second innings with left-arm spinner Gurinder Singh scalping 6 wickets for 50 runs. In Patna, Puducherry outclassed hosts Bihar by 10 wickets. Chasing just 67 for victory after bowling out Bihar for below 200 in both the innings, Puducherry openers Arun Karthik (28 not out) and Paras Dogra (42 not out) safely guided their team home in just 11.2 overs.