Ranji Trophy Quarter Final: Uttarakhand’s Avneesh Sudha Shines Against the Defending Champions

Timely 91 helps stabilize team after a going down 44/3

Out of the four Ranji matches, if one player shone the most, it had to be the 17-year-old debutant Avneesh Sudha. The batsman hit a composed 91 under pressure after Uttarakhand lost Vineet Saxena (5), Karn Veer Kaushal (31) and Vaibhav Bhatt (5) in quick succession.

With the team wobbling at 44/3, it was the youngster who steadied the ship, thus justifying his call-up.

The innings set a solid foundation for the Himalayan state, with Vaibhav Singh (67) and Saurabh Rawat (68*) then hitting their own half-centuries to help their team post a respectable total of 293/6.

Dehradun’s Sudha first came in selector’s view after slamming a triple ton and a double hundred in the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy recently to post an incredible 883 runs from 7 games at an average of 126.

Luck shone for the youngster when Uttarakhand batsman Rajat Bhatia got injured and coach Bhaskar Pillai decided to go with Sudha.

Uttar Pradesh start strongly

Riding on a brilliant 150 by Rinku Singh, Uttar Pradesh posted a competitive total of 385 against Saurashtra on the first day of the 2nd Ranji Trophy quarter-final. Although the openers and the middle order underperformed, it was Singh, along with the tail-enders Saurabh Kumar (55) and Shivam Mavi (42), who ensured UP started strongly.

On the bowling side, skipper Jaydev Unadkat and D Jadeja were the only bright spots as they posted figures 5/86 and 3/111.

Karnataka vs Rajasthan in for a thrilling contest

Asked to bat first, Rajasthan started off steadily with a score of 62/1. But then a slew of wickets saw them reduced to 111/5. Coming in at six down, Rajesh Bishnoi chipped in a vital 79 to help his team finish with a total of 224.

Karnataka faced a similar fate, with some quick wickets at the hands of TM-Ulhaq saw them reduced to 115/4. With four more days to go, this will make for a thrilling even contest.

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Gujarat in Trouble

Having bowled Kerala for a paltry 185, Gujarat seemed to be in the driver’ seat with Chintan Gaja (4-57) and (3-50) being the stars. However, the south Indian state replied with a superior bowling attack of its own, decimating Gujarat for 162 for 10. It was the trio of Sandeep Warrier (4/42), MD Nidheesh (3/38) and Basil Thampi (3/61) who shared the spoils.

However, with Kerala having already lost 2 wickets for 16 in the third innings(openers Ponnam Rahul (10) and Mohammad Azharuddin (0)), the contest looks to reach the conclusion sooner than others.

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