Ranji Trophy 2010-11: Super League

[Sir john]

:((:((:((

[Raghav_12]

karnatka all out for 222 jogi take fifer :eyedance::yay:

Sir Jogi is best allrounder India had since the time of Kapil Dev:giggle:. On top of that he is lucky mascot for the teams he play with and teams end up winning those tournaments.:giggle: He should be in first name in our world cup squad..

[Ranjha]

This is a step in the right direction. BCCI is ensuring anyone with suspect action is either being asked to correct the action or getting banned. This a laudable effort from an otherwise moronic BCCI.

:two_thumbs_up:

[Raghav_12]

I notice that Ranji Matches seem to be being played on far more sporting pitches than India-NZ series. Across all the matches, pacers picking handful of wickets and almost all Indian fringe bowlers have been among the wickets. Only few matches have been exhibition of batting marathons. Is it me only or other people also notice that?

[Ranjha]

wheres yuvis belly gone

[Chandan]

ROUND UP, DAY 3 Mumbai vs Railways Railways, Mumbai set for exciting finish Crucial half-centuries by veteran Sanjay Bangar and wicketkeeper-batsman Mahesh Rawat ensured that a riveting contest was in the offing as visitors Railways set Mumbai a target of 252 on day three of the Ranji Trophy Group A Elite division match. Going into the final day's play, Mumbai were 22 for no loss, needing another 232 runs for their first outright win of the season with Sahil Kukreja (7) and Omkar Gurav (12) at the crease. Earlier, resuming at an overnight score of 64-3, Railways who were just 46 runs ahead, got off to a bad start losing the experienced Yere Goud (15), bowled by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni in the seventh over of the day, for the addition of just 23 runs. But Bangar batted patiently and shared a vital 70 run partnership for the fifth wicket in the company of debutant Prashant Awasthi, who had made an impressive 62 in the first essay, in just over 20 overs. However, both the batsmen were dismissed in quick succession - Awasthi (32) being castled by part-timer Rohit Sharma and Bangar 62 (183b, 4x8, 6x1) caught and bowled by Iqbal Abdulah - to leave the visitors struggling at 171-6. It was here that Rawat took charge and added an important 98 runs for the final four wickets with the remaining batsmen, who scored just 27 of those runs but stayed long enough on the wicket to let the wicket-keeper batsman take Railways lead past the 250-run mark. Rawat remained unbeaten on 76 in 138 balls with the help of eight fours and one six, even as Kulkarni removed the tailenders at the other end to finish with figures of 5-52. Offie Ramesh Powar supported Kulkarni well to finish with figures 3-65. Brief scores: Railways: 201 and 269 (M Rawat 76 not out, Sanjay Bangar 62; D Kulkarni 5-52, R Powar, 3-65). Mumbai: 219 and 22-0. Bengal vs Assam Assam's strong reply against Bengal Kolkata: Bengal found themselves at the receiving end with Assam giving the hosts a brave reply on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at Eden Gardens. In reply to Bengal's mammoth 562/6, Assam rode on half-centuries by Sridharan Sriram, Sibsankar Roy and Dhiraj Jadhav as the visitors finished the day with 293/3. Veteran Sriram held the fort with an unbeaten 89 and crafted 126 runs for the 3rd wicket with skipper Amol Muzumdar who missed a 50 by six runs. Debutant medium-pacer Sami Ahmed, who was down with fever last night, claimed all the three wickets as Bengal were hit hard by his sickness that permitted him only 11 overs. Resuming at 10 for no loss, Assam capitalised on the weak Bengal pace attack in absence of Ahmed in the morning as openers Roy (89) and Jadhav (62) laid the foundation with a 150-run opening parntership. As Sami could not take the field in the morning session, Bengal opened their attack with Ranadeb Bose and all-round Laxmi Ratan Shukla who found the going tough with little assistance from the flat strip. With both the left-hand openers Roy and Jadhav looking good Assam were 114 for no loss at lunch. Sami, who debuted in absence of Ashok Dinda (fever), came into action in the 46th over and gave Bengal a reason to cheer taking the scalp of Roy in his second over. He castled Jadhav to cap a perfect first spell with figures of 7-2-37-2 before again going off the field. With veterans Sriram and Muzumdar at the crease, it was time for Assam to bat the day out as the duo put on a defiant stand to frustrate Bengal. Towards the close, Sami returned to action and gave another breakthrough in the form of Muzumdar who misjudged the line only to see his off-stump crashed. Sriram said their effort would give Bengal sleepless nights. "We made a conscious effort to not look at the scoreboard. We have to bat out another day," Sriram said. Brief Scores: Bengal: 562/6 declared in 167 overs (L R Shukla 250, W Saha 178). Assam 293/3 in 88 overs (S Sriram 89 batting, S Roy 89, Dhiraj Jadhav 62; Sami Ahmed 3/57). Delhi vs Gujarat Nagar hits maiden ton as Delhi take command New Delhi: Yogesh Nagar slammed his maiden first class century as Delhi strengthened their grip over Gujarat on day three of their Super League Group A Ranji Trophy match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Nagar smashed 15 fours and two huge sixes during his career-best innings of 151 not out, and in the company of opener Shikhar Dhawan [ Images ] (149), added 197 runs for the fourth wicket to help the hosts to a massive 437 in reply to Gujarat's paltry 71 in their first innings. In their second essay, Gujarat were 114 for the loss of two wickets when stumps were drawn for the day. Openers Jay Desai and Priyank Kirit Panchal got the visitors off to a much better start after the debacle on the first day but they could not sustain it for long as Delhi picked up two wickets just before close to leave Gujarat on the brink of defeat. With Delhi still enjoying a healthy 252-run lead, Gujarat will have their task cut out on Saturday. Earlier Delhi, resuming at 248 for the loss of three wickets, rode on Dhawan and Nagar's solid centuries to post a mammoth total. Unbeaten on 116 overnight, Dhawan started from where he had left it yesterday, unleashing some power-packed shots across the ground. The left-handed Delhi opener cleared the fence 17 times during his 246-ball knock and 217-minute vigil at the crease. After failing to pick any wickets in the morning session, Rohit Dahiya gave the visitors a breakthrough when he had Dhawan caught behind by Parthiv Patel for a well-crafted 149. Dhawan's departure, however, didn't end Gujarat's misery on the field as Nagar stitched together another half-century stand, this time with Aditya Jain (20). Sumit Narwal then smashed a quickfire 26 off 20 balls before Manhas declared Delhi's innings. For Gujarat, Dahiya and Ishwar Choudhury picked up two wickets each, while Siddharth Trivedi took one. Brief score: Gujarat 1st innings 71 all out Delhi 1st innings 437-6 decl (Dhawan 149, Nagar 151 not out) Gujarat 2nd innings 114-2 Karnataka vs Haryana Badani help Haryana take lead against Karnataka Rohtak: Hemang Badani scored a patient 88 to help Haryana take a first innings lead over Karnataka and assure themselves of at least three points in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match. Resuming at 146/3 in reply to Karnataka's first innings total of 222, Nitin Saini (64) added seven more runs to his overnight score before being dismissed by Abhimanyu Mithun. His partner Badani then took the onus on himself and hit a useful 194-ball 88 comprising seven fours and two sixes as Haryana finished their first innings at 319, taking a 97-run lead. Badani anchored the Haryana innings but he lost out of partners before eventually being trapped in front of wicket by R Vinay Kumar in the 101th over. K B Pawan (31) and C M Gautam (34) then amassed 67 runs for the opening wicket as Karnataka reached 72 for one in 32 overs in their second essay, still trailing by 25 runs. At the draw of stumps, Ganesh Satish (0) was giving Pawan company at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium here. Brief Score: Karnataka first innings: 222 all out in 71.2 overs Haryana first innings: 319 all out in 108.2 overs (N Saini 64, HK Badani 88; SB Joshi 3/64) Karnataka second innings: 72/1 in 32 overs (KB Pawan batting 31, Ganesh Satish batting 0; YS Chahal 1/4). HP vs Punjab Punjab facing defeat against Himachal Dharamsala: Punjab were staring defeat in the eye in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match against hosts Himachal Pradesh [ Images ] after being bundled out for 229 in their first innings and following on, reduced to 42 for one in their second essay at the HPCA stadium. In reply to Himachal's first innings huge total of 473, the visitors folded up a good 244 runs behind in their first essay and following on, lost experienced Uday Kaul (8) after opener Vishwas Bhalla (5) got retired hurt on a drama-filled penultimate day. Pacers Vikramjeet Malik and Rishi Dhawan made good use of the windy conditions and wreaked havoc with the ball in Punjab's first innings, claiming three wickets apiece while another medium-fast Mohinderraj Sharma chipped in with two wickets. Resuming at their overnight score of 54 for two after losing both the openers Ravi Inder Singh (13) and Vishwas Bhalla (15) on Thursday, the visitors entered the third day with an aim to avoid follow-on in their mind. But their hopes received an early blow when overnight batsman Uday Kaul (14) departed without adding to his score. He was dismissed by pacer Vikramjeet caught by Manvinder Bisla. Yuvraj Singh (27) then came to the middle and combined well with another overnight batsman Rahul Sharma (22) to take the team total past 100-mark. Both added crucial 54 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership. Pacer Dhawan broke the partnership having Yuvraj caught by Mukesh Sharma with the visitors' total reading 108 for four. At the same score, Mohinderraj claimed the wicket of Rahul to leave the Punjab team in dire straits. Skipper Pankaj Dharmani (9) also did not last long and was bowled by Vikramjeet. Mandeep Singh (53) and wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera (25) tried to rebuild the innings and took the team total to 178 when the latter was dismissed by Mohinderraj. Tailenders failed to provide ample support to Mandeep and Punjab's first innings folded at 229 runs. Following on, the visitors were 42 for one with opener Ravi Inder Singh (15) and Yuvraj Singh (9) at the crease. Punjab is still trailing by 202 runs with 9 wickets remaining. Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh: 1st innings: 473 Punjab 2nd innings: 229 and 42 for 1 (following on) TamilNadu vs Saurashtra Saurashtra on the backfoot against Tamil Nadu Rajkot: Tamil Nadu reduced Saurashtra to 246 for four after Abhinav Mukund and Subramaniam Badrinath [ Images ] helped them to a mammoth 582 for six declared on the third day of their Group A Super League Ranji Trophy encounter at the Khandheri Cricket Stadium. At close, Shitanshu Kotak was unbeaten on 75, while Sagar Jogiyani was giving him company on 19. Ravindra Jadeja [ Images ] departed after scoring a fluent 63 off 86 balls, trapped in front by Ravichandran Ashwin. The hosts trailed by 356 runs with six wickets in hand when stumps were drawn on the penultimate day of the match. Resuming at 483 for the loss of two wickets, Mukund and Badrinath started with a flurry of boundaries before Mukund fell to Rakesh Dhurv for a monumental 232. Mukund's innings was laced with 27 boundaries and a six and the batsman faced 409 balls during his 579-minute vigil at the crease. Tamil Nadu delayed the declaration so as to give Badrinath an opportunity to get to his double century but the batsman was unlucky to have missed the mark by just five runs. When on 195 Badrinath went for a run but Pratik Mehta's throw at the stumps found the batsman short of crease. Badrinath hit 18 fours and two sixes during his knock that came off 269 balls at a decent strike rate of 72.49. Brief score: Tamil Nadu 1st innings 582-6 decl Saurashtra 1st innings 246-4 (Kotak 75 not out, Jadeja 63) Baroda vs UP UP lead by 160 runs against Baroda Vadodara: Opener Tanmay Srivastava and Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit twin half-centuries as Uttar Pradesh scored 279 for eight in their second innings against Baroda by stumps on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match. Resuming at 25 for no loss, Srivastava completed his fifty, scoring 60 in 128 balls while Kumar scored a 101-ball 55 comprising five boundaries to help Uttar Pradesh extend their lead to 160 with two wickets remaining. Tailenders Amir Khan (30) and Praveen Gupta (4) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn as the match is headed to an exciting finish at the Moti Bagh Stadium here. Yusuf Pathan again emerged as the highest wicket-taker for Baroda, claiming four for 79 runs today, to extend his total wickets to nine in this match. Munaf Patel, who had claimed four wickets in the first innings, scalped two more, giving away 37 runs. Ajitesh Argal and Bhargav Bhatt accounted for one wicket each. Brief Score: Uttar Pradesh first innings: 190 Baroda first innings: 309 Uttar Pradesh second innings: 279/8 in 100 overs (TM Srivastava 60, B Kumar 55; Yusuf Pathan 4/79).

[Sir john]

i wish that today himachal will give punjab a innings defeat. :pray: :yay::yay::yay:

[Ranjha]

i wish that today himachal will give punjab a innings defeat. :pray: :yay::yay::yay:

kyun bhai...himachal mein tere sasural hain lol just kiddin

[ludhianvi]

i wish that today himachal will give punjab a innings defeat.

Nah, wont fold once again. Himachal did well in the game. Be happy with the 3 points :P Ravinder and Yuvi on 57 & 73 respectively and Mandeep on debut gets an unbeaten half century in first innings

[Ranjha]

Nah, wont fold once again. Himachal did well in the game. Be happy with the 3 points :P Ravinder and Yuvi on 57 & 73 respectively and Mandeep on debut gets an unbeaten half century in first innings

I hope yuvi scores a double. how you getting the score bud? Cricinfo only doing session update.

[ludhianvi]

I hope yuvi scores a double. how you getting the score bud? Cricinfo only doing session update.

Check post #3, SJ updated it with the direct match links from the http://bccicricket.org/ website. Punjab/HP http://www.bccicricket.org/cims/web/jsp/FullScoreCard.jsp?matchid=1975 Their website is designed in a weird way so you gotta be patient with the updates but it is better than session updates I guess.

[Ranjha]

Check post #3' date=' SJ updated it with the direct match links from the [url']http://bccicricket.org/ website. Punjab/HP http://www.bccicricket.org/cims/web/jsp/FullScoreCard.jsp?matchid=1975 Their website is designed in a weird way so you gotta be patient with the updates but it is better than session updates I guess.

Thx bud :two_thumbs_up:

[Sir john]

kyun bhai...himachal mein tere sasural hain lol just kiddin

main himachal ka rehne walla huan.:--D sasural ka tooh aabhi pata nahi, punjab main ho sakta ha sasural

[Sir john]

yuvi save punjab from innings defeat. :wall: :wall: i am a fan of yuvi,so no problem.happy to see yuvi score a 100 :yay::yay::yay:

[Ranjha]

main himachal ka rehne walla huan.:--D sasural ka tooh aabhi pata nahi, punjab main ho sakta ha sasural

lol.....be careful punjabi kudis can be violent...

[Sir john]

lol.....be careful punjabi kudis can be violent...

i know paaji,my gf from punjab.:--D by the way yuvi playing well.

[Ranjha]

i know paaji,my gf from punjab.:--D by the way yuvi playing well.

lol so she beats u up?:giggle: yuvi looks good for a double...dont wanna jinx him.

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Mumbai-Railways clash on tenterhooks; all eyes on Murali Kartik after Kulkarni's fivefer More... Mumbai-Railways clash on tenterhooks; all eyes on Murali Kartik Published: Saturday, Nov 20, 2010, By Taus Rizvi | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA Mumbai players seemed both happy and nervous. The nervousness was at the prospect of facing Murali Kartik on a turning track while chasing a stiff target. The smiles were for the chance of an outright win they gave themselves. Gritty batting from wicket-keeper batsman Mahesh Rawat (76*) and old war horse Sanjay Bangar (62) saw Railways give Mumbai a target of 252 before fast bowler Dhaval Kulkarni came up with a five-wicket haul to dismiss the visitors for 269 in second innings. Mumbai, in reply, began their chase on a cautious note and finished the third day at 22 without loss at MCA ground in BKC on Friday. They need 230 runs more to register their first win of the season. Resuming at 64/3, Railways did not have a great start losing experienced Yere Goud (15) in the fourth over of the day. Kulkarni used the early morning moisture to his advantage and the success for his accuracy was Goud’s wicket. As the day progressed, the Railways batsmen found batting easy. Bangar, Railways’ most reliable batsman, was stubborn, playing the ball on merit. He and Prashant Awasthi frustrated the Mumbai bowlers. The duo stitched together 70 runs for the fifth wicket before Rohit Sharma gave Mumbai the breakthrough by disturbing Awasthi’s stumps. Though Bangar was defensive in his approach, he was not soft on loose balls. He hit eight boundaries and a towering six. It looked as if he would register another first class century. But he mistimed a pull shot off Iqbal Abdulla. However, that was not the end of Mumbai’s misery. It was Rawat’s turn to frustrate the Mumbai bowlers.But Ramesh Powar got success eventually as he dismissed the dangerous Jai Prakash Yadav for 5. Tail-enders too got the opportunity to show their skills with the bat, but Kulkarni bowled with a decent pace to bundle them out for 269. Kulkarni who took his second five-wicket haul of the season, was elated. “It was the first time that senior bowlers Ajit and Salvi were not there and I had to shoulder the responsibility. It was not tough because I stuck to my basics. I hope I continue in the same way,” he said after the match. This one’s going down to the wire,” said Sanjay Bangar as he stepped off the field at the end of the third day’s play in the Ranji trophy match against Mumbai at the Bandra-Kurla complex. The Wasim Jaffer-led Ranji champions need a further 230 runs to notch up their first outright win of the 2009-10 season and on a track that’s assisting spinners India discard Murali Kartik promises to make things difficult for the home team. Dhawal Kulkarni claimed his first five-wicket haul in this Ranji trophy season and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the hosts. With Agarkar missing, the youngster needed to step up and that’s what he did as the Railways were dismissed for 269. In reply, Mumbai had crawled to 22 for no loss after 15 overs. Mahesh Rawat (76 not out) and Sanjay Bangar (62) played the vital knocks which enabled the Railways to fight back after being dismissed for just 201 in their first innings. And they looked on course to get a few more but Kulkarni claimed the last three wickets in quick time. Crucial spell It was a vital spell for the medium-pacer, who had once got a call-up to the Indian team for the tour of New Zealand. It reminded the selectors, who have since then placed their hopes on Jaidev Unadkat, that he is still around. “Yes, I realise that it is an important spell for me but for me it is more important to know that it helped the team,” said Kulkarni. “I just bowled in the right areas and even though the pitch is helping spinners on one end, I think we should manage to chase down the target.” “The first session will be very vital and if we can get a good partnership going, then it should be easy.” The last time India played a Test series against New Zealand last year, Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni was part of the squad. As a bowler fast-tracked from the domestic circuit, much was expected of him, but a lot has changed since his debutless tour in 2009. The Kiwis are currently in India, but Kulkarni is nowhere near the national dressing room. Kulkarni may not have received a second chance in the Indian side, but he made the best of the domestic platform. On Friday, he ripped through the Railways line-up to finish with figures of 26.5-13-52-5, giving his side a whiff of victory. But the disappointment of being ignored by the national selectors still rankles. “I’ve stopped thinking about the selectors. I feel disappointed not to get a second chance with the Indian side, but now I’m taking it as a challenge to prove my worth,”Kulkarni, who crossed the 100 First-Class wickets barrier, said. At the BKC grounds here, Kulkarni’s nagging line and length ensured that Railways were restricted to 269, before Mumbai went to stumps at 22/0, requiring another 230 runs to register their first outright win of the season. Bangar believes this match isn’t going to be decided in one session. “We know that this match is now going to be about building pressure,” said Bangar. “The match will only be decided after tea and we hope it will be in our favour. This is tough cricket.” Mumbai has a strong batting line-up and it won’t easy for the Railways. But that one fact will have Kartik excited. A good spell against Mumbai never goes un-noticed and one that leads your side to victory, even more so. Mumbai will look to force the pace early on in a bid to not let the Railways bowlers settle into a rhythm. The visitors have an experienced attack and Mumbai will have to bring out their best game – two factors which make day four a brilliant proposition. Yelligetti warned for chucking Meanwhile, Mumbai off-spinner Vikrant Yelligetti was warned for chucking, making it the second time in as many years the 25-year old was pulled up for a suspect action. Yelligetti had bowled just six overs before the umpires forced Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer to take the spinner off.

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Tamil Nadu posts huge total against Saurashtra More... Tamil Nadu posts huge total Special Correspondent Rajkot: After toiling hard on Friday, Tamil Nadu will be looking to get some value out of its Group ‘A' Ranji Trophy Super League match against Saurashtra at the Khanderi Stadium here. Taking three points is definitely on the cards, going into the fourth and final day. Occupying the crease for 10 hours and fifteen minutes, it did not require more than five batsmen to put up a total of 582, but the entire team had to put in some hard work on the field thereafter. Saurashtra offered more than a semblance of defiance for nearly six hours. Its bulwark for nearly two decades, Sitanshu Kotak (75 batting, 189b, 9x4) demonstrated his usual grit for nearly five hours and proved to be a man difficult to shift. But Tamil Nadu made sufficient inroads in the 80 overs it bowled — it still has 336 runs to defend, with the home team's last recognised batting pair out in the middle. When play began on Friday, Abhinav Mukund would have eyed his second triple century and S. Badrinath a double century. The third-wicket pair had extended its stand to 318 when the former holed out in trying to clear left-arm spinner Dhruv over long-on. Mukund had batted 579 minutes, faced 409 balls and struck 27 fours and one six for his 232. Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik busied himself with an unbeaten 30 off 31 balls while giving Badrinath the chance to reach 200 before declaring. But an accurate throw from Pratik Mehta to wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani caught Badrinath short of the crease, five runs shy of the landmark. Tamil Nadu had scored at nearly four an over, largely due to Badrinath's 269-ball 195 with 18 fours and two sixes in nearly four-and-a-half hours. The pitch which had played a major part in the Tamil Nadu batsmen's complete domination aided the host as well; the visitor's seamers C. Ganapathy and Yomahesh could not extract too much either with the new ball. Saurashtra's openers Chirag Pathak (15) and Bhushan Chauhan (19) departed after spending some time in the middle. Pathak's sweep shot off off-spinner Murthy Prabhu was superbly held by Sunil Sam at deep backward square-leg and Chauhan was caught behind off Sam. Ravindra Radeja then made a splendid 63 — with 10 fours and a six — and Jaydev Shah 42 before Kotak and Jogiyani (19 batting) saw the host reach stumps with no further loss. The partnerships between Kotak and Jadeja and thereafter between Kotak and Shah enabled Saurashtra finish at 246 for four, but on Saturday it may be hard pressed to deny Tamil Nadu points for the first innings lead.

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Roy, Sriram help Assam fight back against Bengal More... Wicket threatens to rob hosts’ hope - Ranji Trophy Sriram unbeaten on 89 as Assam reach 293 for three A STAFF REPORTER Calcutta: Experience came to good use for Assam as Sridharan Sriram and skipper Amol Muzumdar bolstered the visitors’ innings by stitching a 126-run 3rd wicket partnership on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match against Bengal, on Friday. At stumps, Assam were 293 for the loss of three wickets, with Sriram and Arlen Konwar at the crease. The day negated any claims of superiority by Bengal bowlers null and void as they struggled hard in search of a first innings lead only to be rendered toothless by a flat Eden track. Ranadeb Bose, Sourashish Lahiri, Laxmi Ratan Shukla bowled their hearts out but didn’t manage a breakthrough. However, debutant pacer Shami Ahmed was an exception. Despite missing the start of the day due to high fever, he came in the post-lunch session (46th over) and claimed his first victim in his second over, in the form of Shib Shankar Roy (89). He followed the good work up by dismissing Dheeraj Jadhav before finally getting the better of Muzumdar. Apart from bowling, Bengal’s porous fielding once again came across as a concern. Looking at the colossal target ahead of them, it was expected that Assam would play a ‘direct action day’. However, the minnows seemed to be in no great hurry as Jadhav and Roy lingered at the crease and played the ‘slow and steady’ game, while belting occasional boundaries. When on 37, Roy had a reprieve when Writam Porel dropped him at short-leg, off Saurashish. He, however, took his time to notch up 89, which included 18 boundaries. After his exit, Sriram came in and tried to increase the pace of the game. However, the partnership between Jadhav and Sriram was shortlived, as Shami castled Jadhav (62). Assam were 167 for two, when captain Muzumdar came in to partner Sriram. The duo played a speedy game sending the Bengal fielders on a leather hunt. To Muzumdar (44) and Sriram goes the credit of enhancing the pace of the match as they employed some brilliant shots. Shami was successful in breaching Muzumdar’s defence too. While a visibly disappointed Muzumdar walked back to the pavilion, Sriram continued manning the post along with Konwar. “I was not looking at the scoreboard,” said Sriram. “We needed to maintain the momentum… So, I kept playing.” Commenting on the Bengal bowling and the lack of movement, Sriram said: “It is a two-day old wicket. You cannot completely blame them. We got early success with the ball because the strip was responding to the seamers. But, at the end of the day, it remains a very good batting track.” The former Tamil Nadu batsman was also happy with his first season for Assam. “It has been good… We (Assam) have a good bunch of boys and the pace bowling is great.” The Bengal camp, meanwhile, were plagued by health concerns. While, Shami bowled despite being not his hundred percent, captain Manoj Tiwary stayed away from the action with high fever. Wriddhiman Saha donned the captain’s cap in Tiwary’s absence.