Ranji Trophy Group B: Aryaman Birla slams maiden ton; Kerala beat Andhra

Scion of the Birla family, Aryaman remained unbeaten on 103 in his third first-class match, while Shubham Sharma gave him fine support with 100 not out on the fourth day to hand Madhya Pradesh one point in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture

Aryaman Vikram slammed his maiden first-class century to help Madhya Pradesh salvage a draw following on, as Bengal had to settle for three points in their first Ranji Trophy home match of the season here on Thursday.

Scion of the Birla family, Aryaman remained unbeaten on 103 in his third first-class match, while Shubham Sharma gave him fine support with 100 not out on the fourth day to hand Madhya Pradesh one point in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture.

Bengal, who enjoyed a first innings lead in their last match in Himachal Pradesh, have now six points from two games. Having taken a first innings lead over Tamil Nadu in their last match, Madhya Pradesh now have four points.

At the Feroz Shah Kotla, Himachal Pradesh managed to draw the game against Delhi. While chasing a mammoth target of 375 runs, Himachal had some early blows but the credit goes to Nikhil Gangta’s patient 184-ball 66 which was well supported by Rishi Dhawan’s half-century which contributed massively in saving the game.

Delhi settled with 3 points while Himachal bagged 2 points after drawing the game.

In another Group B clash at the St Xavier's College Ground, Thiruvananthapuram, home team team Kerala registered a terrific 9-wicket victory against Andhra. Opener Arun Karthik’s century and Jalaj Saxena’s double ton in the first innings had already powered Kerala with a 74-run lead to the hosts. With 42 runs needed to win, the duo piled up 25 runs for the opening wicket. Though they lost a wicket but ended the game clinically.

It was Kerala’s first victory after drawing their first game against Hyderabad. They currently have 7 points in their kitty while Andhra is yet open their account in this season.

Hyderabad drew the second game on a row on Thursday at the Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli against Tamil Nadu. Captain Akshath Reddy’s magnificent 250 followed by Bavanaka Sandeep’s century amassed 565 runs for Andhra. In reply, Tamil Nadu scored 409 with the help of tons from Abhinav Mukund and wicketkeeper Jagadeesan. The game could head into the second innings and ended in a draw.