Anukul Roy achieved his career best score (153, 164b, 14x4, 7x6) as the Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal between Jharkhand and Nagaland ended in a dull draw at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
Jharkhand, resuming its second innings from 132 for two on the fifth and final day, was 417 for six when both sides agreed to the draw.
Jharkhand, which chose to give its players some batting practice on a lifeless track, continued to amass runs which had hardly any significance except for statistical purposes.
Nagaland’s bowlers, who bowled on all five days, continued to toil as Anukul, who had scored a half-century in the first innings, drove well on the off-side on his way to get his second hundred.
Southpaw Anukul joined hands with teenage wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra (89, 104b, 8x4, 3x6), the double century maker in first innings, to build the highest partnership of 163 runs for Jharkhand in the second essay.
Nagaland captain Rongsen Jonathon claimed both Anukul and Kushagra.
Kushagra’s fall signaled the end of the match.
The scores: Jharkhand 880 and 417/6 in 90.3 overs (Anukul Roy 153, Kumar Kushagra 89, Utkarsh Singh 73, Nazim Siddiqui 42, Kumar Suraj 31, Rongsen Jonathon 3/109) bt Nagaland 289 on the basis of first innings lead.
