Ranji Trophy 2016-17 semi-finals: Day 2 Review

The second day of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2016-17 semi-finals fixture saw Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand pushing their opponents on the backfoot and crawl back into the game. Tamil Nadu, after resuming to bat at 261/4, could manage only 305 on the board to give Mumbai a slight advantage.

But, thanks to their bowlers who hit Mumbai hard with late blows Tamil Nadu made a positive comeback to end the day on a high. Jharkhand had some relief after a day of toils where the Gujarat batsmen dominated them completely. The motivation provided by MS Dhoni seemed to have worked wonders.

Tamil Nadu v Mumbai:

The Tamil Nadu side faced a grand slump which was sort of a continuation of from where they left on day one. Mumbai pace bowling trio of Abhishek Nayar, Shardul Thakur, and Balwinder Sandhu ensured that the TN tail did not wag and ensured a quick finish to the first innings.

They lost their last 4 wickets for just 44 and failed to repair the damage they inflicted in the last session where they committed a similar type of mistake after being in a comfortable stage. Overnight batsmen Vijay Srinivas and Aswin Crist looked steady in the first half hour of the game. But, the slide was triggered once Srinivas lost his wicket to Shardul just after completing his fifty. Veteran Nayar then chipped in with two more quick wickets while Thakur snapped the last man to put an end to the innings with Crist remaining unbeaten at 31.

Mumbai began their response on a slightly unfavourable note. Debutant Prithvi Shaw, the teenage sensation, did not have a great start to his first-class career and was dismissed for just four runs. The joy of an early breakthrough was limited as Praful Waghela and Surya Kumar Yadav carried the innings forward with a solid 121 runs stand between them for the 2nd wicket.

Unfortunately, Mumbai failed to end the day on a high and despite doing all the hard work gave Tamil Nadu a reason to walk back to the pavilion with broad smile and satisfaction. The TN bowlers, inflicted three late strikes in the final three overs of the day to sow confidence in the team. The Waghela – Surya partnership came to an end in the 43rd over when Surya lost his wicket to Shankar. Stunningly, the well set Waghela also departed in the next over Siddhesh Lad was dismissed for a duck in the following over. Mumbai now trail by 134 runs with 6 wickets.

Brief Scores:

Tamil Nadu – 305 (B Indrajith 64; A Nayar 4/66)

Mumbai – 171/4 (Surya Kumar Yadav 73; V Shankar 1/14)

Gujarat v Jharkhand:

Jharkhand bowled out the Gujarat side for 390 from being 283/3 at stumps on day one and later posted 214/5 on the board by the end of the day. The game is far from their grips as they still trail by 176 runs with just five wickets in hands. Ishan Kishan once again rose to the occasion and top scored with 60 to his help Jharkhand end at an optimistic 214/5 on day two of their contest against the formidable Gujarat.

Unfortunately, he could not survive till the end of the day and lost his wicket an over before stumps. His loss obviously is a great setback. Rahul Shukla (3/71) and Akash Yadav (3/67) can be credited for the sudden comeback this morning as the duo played a key role in triggering a sort of collapse in the Gujarat batting order.

Jharkhand didn’t begin the innings on a promising note as opener Sumit Kumar lost his wicket in the first over itself. Pratyush Singh (27) and Virat Singh (34) then added some solidity to the innings before failing to convert their starts. Skipper Saurabh Tiwary also contributed with a steady 39 runs knock before departing. The only satisfying partnership came for the 5th wicket as Ishan (61) and Ishan Jaggi (40) forged together for a 92 runs stand.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat – 390 all out (P Panchal 149; Ajay 3/67)

Jharkhand – 214/5 (Ishan Kishan 61; RP Singh 3/48)