Ranji Trophy Group A: Jadeja heroics still holds Saurashtra in good shape

Ranji Trophy Group A, Day 3 Round-up: The match was in balance with Saurashtra with their noses in front but ever so slightly after Railways ended day 3 at 278 for 8, enjoying a lead of 130 runs.

Ravindra Jadeja’s dream run in the Ranji Trophy game against Railways continued as the all-rounder picked up three more wickets to add to his first innings tally of four-for and a 178 with the bat.

The match was in balance with Saurashtra with their noses in front but ever so slightly after Railways ended day 3 at 278 for 8, enjoying a lead of 130 runs.

For Railways, India’s U-19 star, Harsh Tyagi was impressive in the second outing with his unbeaten innings of 73 in 182-balls.

While all others batters failed, 18-year-old Tyagi kept the scoreboard ticking. His knock ensured that Railways managed to get past the 250-run-mark.

After opting to bat, Railways were bowled out for 200 in their first outing.

Saurashtra then took a crucial 148-run first-innings lead with Ravindra Jadeja remaining unbeaten on 178 as they posted 348 on the board.

Resuming the day on 344/8, Saurashtra managed to add just four runs. But their bowlers rose to the occasion in the second innings, grabbing eight wickets and keeping afloat chances of an outright win.

Slow-arm left-arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (4-79) did the bulk of the damage. Ravindra Jadeja claimed 3 wickets but conceded 104 runs.

Come tomorrow, Saurashtra will aim to scuttle out Railways as quickly as possible and then chase the target.

Brief Scores: At Rajkot: Railways 200 and 278/8 (Harsh Tyagi 73 not out, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4-79) versus Saurashtra 348 all out (Ravindra Jadeja 178 not out, Harsh Tyagi 3-78).
Railways lead by 130 runs.

Other Group A matches

Baroda vs Maharashtra at Vadodara
Baroda 322 and 367/3 (Vishnu Solanki 156 batting, Kedar Devdhar 91) versus Maharashtra 268 all out. (Naushad Shaikh 65, Chirag Khurana 56, Swapnil Singh 5-78). Baroda lead by 421 runs.

Gujarat vs Chhattisgarh at Valsad
Gujarat 538/7 Declared (Dhruv Raval 116 not out, Manprit Juneja 107, Vishal Kushwah 3-92) versus Chhattisgarh 366/7 (Vishal Kushwah 117 batting, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 110, Arzan Nagwasalla 3-66). Chhattisgarh trail by 172 runs.

Vidarbha vs Karnataka at Nagpur
Vidarbha 307 and 72/2 (Ganesh Satish 24 batting, Wasim Jaffer 21 batting) against Karnataka 378 all out (Dega Nischal 113, B R Sharath 103, Aditya Sarvate 5-91). Vidarbha lead by 1-run.