KOLKATA: Manipur may have conceded the first-innings lead against Jharkhand but they put up a fight in the second innings of their Group A Ranji Trophy tie at Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur on Sunday.
After Jharkhand declared their first innings for 504/5 with Saurabh Tiwary and Anukul Roy both unbeaten on 114 and 119 respectively, Manipur lost two quick wickets but then patiently played through the day to finish at 221/5 in 85 overs at Stumps on Day 3.
Their captain Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam remained unbeaten on 85 off 149 balls with Al Bashid Muhammed (7 batting) giving him company. Besides Keishangbam, Kangabam Priyojit and Ronald Longjam made useful contributions of 34 and 41 respectively.
However, the team from the northeast still trail by 113 runs and their captain will have to do a lot if they are to deny Jharkhand an outright win.
As for the hosts, Utkarsh Singh took 2/68 while Shahbaz Nadeem, Pankaj Raunak and Anukul took a wicket each but they will hope to put up a better show on the last day to help Jharkhand earn their first win of the season.
Earlier in the day, the hosts just batted for 13 balls to allow Roy to reach his century. And in those 13 balls, the duo of Tiwary and Roy hit 31 runs to go past the 500 run mark.
Brief scores: Manipur 170 and 221/5 in 85 overs (LM Keishangbam 85 batting; Utkarsh Singh 2/68). Jharkhand 504/5 in 119.1 overs (S Tiwary 114, A Roy 119). Match to continue
