Ranji Trophy: Akash, Shahbaz Pick Five Wickets Each, Put Bengal In Pole Position Against Haryana

Ranji Trophy: Akash, Shahbaz pick five wickets each, put Bengal in pole position against Haryana (Image Source: IANS)

At Maharaja Bir Bikram College: Pacer Akash Deep and left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed picked five wickets each to bowl out Haryana for 100 and put Bengal firmly in control of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli on Friday.

Akash returned with figures of 5-40 off 15 uninterrupted overs, his seventh five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while Shahbaz picked 5-42, also his seventh five-wicket haul in the format, as Haryana folded inside 32 overs.

The duo’s efforts helped Bengal take a 93-run first-innings lead. In reply, Sudip Gharami (61) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (61 not out) stitched a 109-run stand for the second wicket to take Bengal to 155/3 in 41 overs at stumps on day two and extend the lead to 248 runs.

At the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun, captain Kunal Chandela struck 207 off 297 balls - his maiden double century in first-class cricket as Uttarakhand declared at 460/7 in 120 overs against Assam. Mayank Mishra then picked three wickets to leave Assam struggling at 91/4 and trail Uttarakhand by 369 runs.

The duo’s efforts helped Bengal take a 93-run first-innings lead. In reply, Sudip Gharami (61) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (61 not out) stitched a 109-run stand for the second wicket to take Bengal to 155/3 in 41 overs at stumps on day two and extend the lead to 248 runs.

At Palam A Ground in New Delhi, Railways ended day two at 168/6 in 40.4 overs and trail Services, who made 343 in their first innings, by 175 runs. For Railways, Ravi Singh top-scored with 55 while Zubair Ali was unbeaten on 45, while Arjun Sharma was the standout bowler for Services with 3-45 in 11 overs.

Article Source: IANS