RANJI TROPHY | Assured batting helps Uttarakhand tighten its grip on the contest

Uttarakhand strengthened its grip on its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jharkhand with an assured batting push on Saturday at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur.

Three away batters breached fifty on the second day — opener Avneesh Sudha, skipper Kunal Chandela and all-rounder J. Suchith — as Uttarakhand coasted to 287 for five at Stumps, having pocketed a potentially decisive first-innings lead.

Uttarakhand’s influence in the game was set up early in the day through a 99-run association between Sudha and Chandela. The two had joined hands after Jharkhand pacer Saurabh Shekhar dismissed opener Bhupen Lalwani, which proved to be the only moment of joy for the home team in the morning session.

Both Sudha and Chandela played with soft hands to blunt Jharkhand’s new-ball threat. The latter’s run-scoring methods relied heavily on walking across the stumps and flicking the ball off his pads.

Uttarakhand’s Kunal Chandela in action .
| Photo Credit:
File photo: VIJAY SONEJI

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Sudha imposed himself with his polished shot-making on the off-side — seven of his eight boundaries in the innings came in the region.

The Uttarakhand duo were also proactive against the home spinners, attacking them with sweeps and cuts to unsettle their rhythm early on in their spells.

Jharkhand sorely missed the impact of Anukul Roy, its highest wicket-taker this season. The left-arm spinner is sitting out of this game after accumulating too many demerit points during the group stage.

Uttarakhand’s progress, though, hit a roadblock in the second session as Jharkhand bowlers claimed three wickets, including those of Sudha and Chandela.

While Sudha was trapped in front by left-arm spinner Manishi, Chandela played on against pacer Jatin Pandey.

But, Suchith took up the mantle in the final phase of play with some watchful batting. He added 64 runs for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper batter Saurabh Rawat to guide Uttarakhand comfortably past Jharkhand’s first-innings total.

The scores: Jharkhand — 1st innings: 235.

Uttarakhand — 1st innings: Avneesh Sudha lbw b Manishi 64, Bhupen Lalwani c Sharandeep b Shekhar 24, Kunal Chandela b Pandey 68, Lakshya Raichandani b Raj 7, J. Suchith (batting) 60, Saurabh Rawat c sub (Pankaj) b Aditya 32, Shashwat Dangwal (batting) 14; Extras (lb-4, nb-3, w-2, b-4): 13; Total (for five wkts. in 87 overs): 282.

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-140, 3-158, 4-190, 5-254.

Jharkhand bowling: Pandey 20-2-57-1, Raj 16-3-48-1, Shekhar 16-4-46-1, Manishi 14-2-53-1, Om 7-0-22-0, Aditya 14-0-48-1.