Ranji Trophy: Rajasthan Thrash Manipur; Vidarbha in Command Against Jharkhand

Seamers Aniket Choudhary and Arafat Khan shared the spoils with seven wickets in between them as Rajasthan defeated Manipur by an innings and 42 runs to jump to the top of the Group A table in the Ranji Trophy on Sunday.

Khan returned with 4/36, while left-arm seamer Choudhary bagged 3/68 to help Rajasthan bundle out Manipur for 198.

Manipur had conceded a big first innings deficit of 240 runs after Rajasthan had declared for 399/6 riding on Kunal Singh Rathore (156) and Mahipal Lomror’s (117) centuries.

Resuming on 21 for no loss, Manipur batsmen showed some fight with Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam leading the charge with a determined half-century.

However, Rajasthan’s bowlers, led by Choudhary and Khan, once kept striking at regular intervals and the match lasted just 55 overs on the penultimate day.

The bonus-point win took Rajasthan to the top of Group A standings with 16 points from four matches. Manipur have lost all four matches this season.

Vidarbha on top

Atharva Taide (138) and Dhruv Shorey’s (113) second innings centuries put Vidarbha in command against hosts Jharkhand in Ranchi.

The duo’s sterling centuries in a 265-run second wicket stand helped Vidarbha declare at a mammoth 374/9 with an overall lead of 428 runs.

In reply, Jharkhand were tottering at 51/3 with 429 runs in arrears at close on the penultimate day.

Brief Scores

At Ahmedabad: Manipur 159 and 198; 63 overs (Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 55, Ronald Longjam 42; Arafat Khan 4/36, Aniket Choudhary 3/68). Rajasthan 399/6 declared. Rajasthan won by an innings and 42 runs. Points: Rajasthan 7, Manipur 0.

At Ranchi: Vidarbha 204 and 374/9 declared; 112 overs (Atharva Taide 138, Dhruv Shorey 113, Akshay Wadkar 51; Shahbaz Nadeem 6/69). Jharkhand 150 and 51/3; 16 overs (Nazim Siddiquie 24 batting). Jharkhand need 378 runs.

At Rohtak: Haryana 195 and 211/6; 67 overs (Nishant Sindhu 70, Ashok Menaria 59; Pradeep Dadhe 5/60). Maharahstra 194. Haryana lead by 212 runs.

At Delhi: Services 536/7 declared; 191 overs (Lovekesh Bansal 161, Shubham Rohilla 153, Arjun Sharma 101 not out; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3/146). Saurashtra 154/2; 50.3 overs (Vishvaraj Jadeja 53, Kevin Jivrajani 52, Cheteshwar Pujara retired hurt 9). Saurashtra trail by 382 runs.