Ahmedabad, Nov 4 (PTI): In a nail-biting encounter on a spin-friendly fourth-day pitch, lower-order batters Parth Vats and Yashvardhan Dalal showed remarkable composure to secure a tense four-wicket victory for Haryana over Gujarat in their Ranji Trophy Group C clash. Haryana, chasing a modest target of 62 for victory at the Gujarat College Ground, witnessed a dramatic batting collapse, losing both openers Lakshay Dalal and skipper Ankit Kumar with just two runs on the board.
In quick succession, Mayank Shandilya (3) and Nishant Sindhu (13) also fell cheaply, leaving Haryana in a precarious position at 43 for six in the 23rd over. It was then that wicketkeeper Yashvardhan (14 not out) partnered with Vats (13 not out) to guide Haryana to a narrow win. Under immense pressure, Yashvardhan maintained his calm, hitting two decisive boundaries to finish the match.
Left-arm spinners Vishal Jayswal (3/23) and Siddharth Desai (2/25) caused the main havoc for Gujarat, while India's leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi added one wicket to the tally.
Earlier in the day, starting at an overnight score of 113 for eight, Gujarat was bowled out for 137 in their second innings on a spinner-friendly track. Among Haryana's bowlers, off-spinner Nikhil Kashyap stood out with figures of 4/59 in 21.4 overs, while Shandilya, Sindhu, and Vats picked up two wickets each.
This exceptional bowling performance helped Haryana gain a critical first-innings lead of 102 runs, paving the way for a significant outright victory against the 2016-17 champions. Gujarat was on the verge of creating history, as a victory would have marked the lowest total defended in the Ranji Trophy's history.
Meanwhile, in Agartala, Tripura managed to secure a first-innings lead against Bengal. With Bengal at 90 for three, both captains agreed to call off play, settling for a draw. Tripura gained three points as a result, a notable improvement following losses in their first two games. Bengal, who had won their initial two matches, had to be content with just one point from this encounter.
Tripura's skipper Manisankar Murasingh ended unbeaten on 102, supporting overnight centurion Hanuma Vihari's 141.
In another Group C encounter in Delhi, Uttarakhand defeated Services by 17 runs, bowling them out for 105 while defending a target of 123.
Brief scores:
In Ahmedabad: Gujarat 163 and 137 all out in 60.4 overs (Urvil Patel 44; Nikhil Kashyap 4/59) vs Haryana 239 and 62/6 in 28 overs.
In Agartala: Bengal 336 and 90 for three in 25 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 51 not out) vs Tripura 385 all out in 103.2 overs (Hanuma Vihari 141, Manisankar Murasingh 102 not out; Mohammed Kaif 4/79).
In Guwahati: Railways 224 and 97 for one in 23 overs (Suraj Ahuja 57) vs Assam 209 all out in 64.4 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha batting 121; Adarsh Singh 6/48).
In Delhi: Uttarakhand 257 and 88 all out in 38 overs (Arjun Sharma 6/41, Vikas Yadav 4/22) vs Services 223 and 105 all out in 48.4 overs (Mayank Mishra 5/45).
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