Assam fight back to force draw against Bengal in Ranji Trophy

Kalyani (West Bengal), Nov 19 (PTI) Assam fought hard all day long with the bat to force a draw as hosts Bengal settled for three points courtesy of a first-innings lead in their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match here Wednesday.

Resuming at 98 for three with 144 runs in arrears in the second innings, Assam finished at 282 for nine with half-centuries from skipper Sumit Ghadigaonkar (67 off 222 balls), Denish Das (73 off 133 balls) and Sibsankar Roy (52 off 144 balls) serving them well.

Das and Ghadigaonkar presented a stiff resistance after Assam had slipped to 8/3 on the third evening. They put on 111 runs from 266 balls for the fourth wicket.

After Das was cleaned up by Ishan Porel, Ghadigaonkar put on 58 from 143 balls for the fifth wicket with Roy, who also played his part well in securing the draw as he forged two more key partnerships in the middle to keep Bengal at bay.

For Bengal, who began the day's play eyeing an outright win and seven points, Mohammed Shami took 2/75 and Shahbaz Nadeem claimed 4/57 but the hosts' bowlers could not find the final wicket to register a win.

Abdul Kuraishi (23 not out off 68 balls) and Mukhtar Hussain (0 not out off 24 balls) held the fort for Assam who walked away with a point while Bengal had to settle for three, having taken a huge lead of 242 runs in the first essay.

Shami bowled a total of 52.3 overs across four days including 29 in the second innings.

At the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun, visitors Gujarat pummelled hosts Uttarakhand by 146 runs on the final day to earn six points from the away game.

Chasing 343, Uttarakhand were bowled out for 197 after resuming the day's play at 43 for no loss as Gujarat bowlers Vishal Jayswal (4/72) and Siddharth Desai (3/44) shared seven wickets between them to script a memorable win.

At Lahli's Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Services completed a 211-run hammering of hosts Haryana in the final Group C match.

After Haryana resumed the final day's play at 136/6, Services took a little over half-an-hour to pick the remaining four wickets and complete the formalities for a massive win.

Chasing 377, Harayana were shot out for a mere 166 with Pulkit Narang (5/66) and Amit Shukla (3/59) causing maximum damage.

Shukla, who took a stunning 8/27 in the first innings including a five-wicket haul without giving away a run, was named the Player of the Match.

In another Group C game, Railways completed a commanding victory by an innings and 117 runs against Tripura on the third day on Tuesday.

Brief scores: At Kalyani: Assam 200 & 282/9 in 120.4 overs (Denish Das 73, Sumit Ghadigaonkar 67, Sibsankar Roy 52; Mohammed Shami 2/75, Shahbaz Nadeem 4/57) drew with Bengal 442.

At Dehradun: Uttarakhand 272 & 197 in 68.4 overs (Aarav Mahajan 60; Siddharth Desai 3/44, Vishal Jayswal 4/72) lost to Gujarat 324/8d & 291/5d by 146 runs.

At Lahli: Harayana 111 & 166 in 43.4 overs (Yashvardhan Dalal 49; Amit Shukla 3/59, Pulkit Narang 5/66) lost to Services 205 & 283/7d by 211 runs. PTI DDV DDV AH AH