Ranji Trophy Round 3, Group C: Haryana Edge Out Gujarat; Tripura Sneak Three Points Against Bengal

Lower-order batters Parth Vats and Yashvardhan Dalal held their nerves after a dramatic batting collapse to help Haryana edge out Gujarat by four wickets on a spin-friendly fourth day pitch, in their Ranji Trophy Group C match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Chasing just 62 to win the third round match and grab six points here at the Gujarat College Ground, Haryana were off to a disastrous start losing a couple of wickets with only two runs on board.

Both the openers -- Lakshay Dalal and skipper Ankit Kumar -- were back in the dressing room by the fourth over, paving the way for Mayank Shandilya (3) and Nishant Sindhu's (13) entry into the crease, but they also came a cropper.

Haryana were tottering at 43 for six in the 23rd over when wicketkeeper Yashvardhan (14 not out) joined Vats (13 not out) in the middle. The two kept their calm to add the remaining 19 runs and help Haryana eke out a close win, with an under-pressure Yashvardhan hitting two boundaries to get the job done.

Left-arm spinners Vishal Jayswal (3/23) and Siddharth Desai (2/25) inflicted the maximum damage on Haryana as they picked up five wickets between them, while India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi claimed one.

Gujarat, who started the day at overnight 113 for eight, were bowled out 137 in their second innings on a pitch that offered help to the spinners.

Off-spinner Nikhil Kashyap was the pick among bowlers for Gujarat with fine figures of 4/59 in 21.4 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Shandilya, Sindhu, and Vats.

The bowlers' brilliant display helped Haryana secure a first-innings lead of 102-run lead while paving the way for an outright win against the 2016-17 champions.

Had Gujarat won the game, it would have been the lowest total defended by any side in the history of Ranji Trophy.

Meanwhile in Agartala, Tripura managed to take first-innings lead against a fancied Bengal, who reached 90 for three when the two captains agreed to call it off and settle for a draw, after the home team responded with 385 replying to Bengal's 336 all out.

Tripura got three points for taking the first-innings lead, a big improvement after suffering losses in the opening two games while Bengal had to contend with just one point from this match, having won their first two.

Batting on 42 at stumps on the third day, Tripura skipper Manisankar Murasingh remained unbeaten on 102 while overnight centurion and India batter Hanuma Vihari made 141.

In the Group C match in Delhi, Uttarakhand beat Services by 17 runs, bowling out the latter for 105 after setting a target of 123.

Brief scores

In Ahmedabad: Gujarat 163 and 137 all out in 60.4 overs (Urvil Patel 44; Nikhil Kashyap 4/59) vs Haryana 239 and 62/6 in 28 overs.

In Agartala: Bengal 336 and 90 for three in 25 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 51 not out) vs Tripura 385 all out in 103.2 overs (Hanuma Vihari 141, Manisankar Murasingh 102 not out; Mohammed Kaif 4/79).

In Guwahati: Railways 224 and 97 for one in 23 overs (Suraj Ahuja 57) vs Assam 209 all out in 64.4 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha batting 121; Adarsh Singh 6/48).

In Delhi: Uttarakhand 257 and 88 all out in 38 overs (Arjun Sharma 6/41, Vikas Yadav 4/22) vs Services 223 and 105 all out in 48.4 overs (Mayank Mishra 5/45).