NEW DELHI: Cheteshwar Pujara suffered a six-ball duck as Saurashtra found themselves struggling at 35/5, trailing Tamil Nadu by 129 runs in their second innings during the Ranji Trophy Group D opener in Coimbatore on Sunday.
On the third day, Tamil Nadu’s left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh tore through Saurashtra’s lineup, finishing with figures of 9-5-7-4, leaving the visitors facing a daunting task.
Saurashtra had earlier conceded a first-innings lead of 164, with TN being bowled out for 367 after resuming on 278/3 in response to Saurashtra’s 203. Jaydev Unadkat took 6/61 for Saurashtra.
Gurjapneet dismissed Pujara, who had managed 16 in the first innings, trapping the out-of-favor India batter LBW in the second. Arpit Vasavada (15*) and Sheldon Jackson (5*) were at the crease at stumps.
In Chandigarh, Railways secured a dominant 181-run victory, bowling out the hosts for 159 in 40.2 overs while chasing 341. Akash Pandey (4/46), Karn Sharma (3/18), and Himanshu Sangwan (2/28) caused the damage despite resistance from Arslan Khan (46) and Ankit Kaushik (45).
Elsewhere, Delhi gained a slim 14-run first-innings lead, but Chhattisgarh edged ahead by stumps, reaching 33/0 and leading by 19 runs. Himmat Singh (65) and Jonty Sidhu's unbeaten 103 (170 balls, 11 fours, 2 sixes) gave Delhi the advantage.
In Guwahati, Assam, following on, ended the day at 130/3, leading Jharkhand by 51 runs after being bowled out for 180 in their first innings, in response to Jharkhand’s 361.
Brief scores:
