Bhut stars with seven wickets as Saurashtra beat Goa by innings and 47 runs

Rajkot, Nov 19 (PTI) Left-arm spinner Parth Bhut wreaked havoc to grab a match haul of 9 for 127, including seven wickets in the second essay, to help Saurashtra beat Goa by an innings and 47 runs in a Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Wednesday.

Bhut, who had figures of 2/71 in the first innings, claimed seven for 56 in the second essay to single-handedly bowl out Goa for 180 in 54.5 overs following on.

Resuming their second innings at 77 for 2, Bhut ran through Goa's middle and lower order, and he was ably supported by skipper Jaydev Unadkat (2/29) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (1/34).

Arjun Tendulkar (13) was Bhut's final wicket, out LBW.

Opener Manthan Khutkar (36), first innings centurion Abhinav Tejrana (34) and captain Snehal Kauthankar (25) got starts for Goa before fizzling out.

Earlier, Goa rode on Tejrana's 118 to score 358 all out in reply to Saurashtra's mammoth first innings score of 587 for 7 declared.

The win gave Saurashtra seven points.

MP tail deny Kerala win ================ A sturdy batting effort from Madhya Pradesh lower order denied Kerala an outright win, with the match ending in a stale draw in Indore.

Resuming at 218 for 3, Sachin Baby (122 off 217 balls; 9x4s, 2x6s) and Baba Aparajith (105 retired hurt off 149 balls; 11x4s, 3x6s) scored fine centuries as Kerala declared their second innings on 314 for 5, setting a target of 404 runs for MP.

In reply, Kerala reduced the hosts to 126 for 8 and were in contention for an outright win.

But the duo of Aryan Pandey (23 not out off 85 balls) and Kumar Kartikeya (16 not out off 54) produced stubborn resistance to earn a hard-fought draw for MP.

The duo negotiated more than 20 overs in their unbeaten ninth wicket stand as MP finished on 167 for 8, denying Kerala victory.

Saransh Jain top-scored for MP with 31 off 59 balls.

Left-arm spinner Sreehari Nair (4/51) was the pick of the bowlers for Kerala.

Kerala took home three points from the contest, while MP had to be content with one point.

Brief Scores: At Rajkot: Saurashtra 587/7 declared beat Goa 358 all out in 106.2 overs and 180 all out in 54.5 overs (Manthan Khutkar 36, Abhinav Tejrana 34; Parth Bhut 2/71) by an innings and 47 runs.

Saurashtra 7 points; Goa 0.

At Indore: Kerala 281 all out and 314/5 in 62 overs (Sachin Baby 122, Baba Aparajith 105; Saransh Jain 3/61) vs Madhya Pradesh 192 all out and 167 for 8 in 69 overs (Saransh Jain 31, Aryan Pandey 23 not out, Kumar Kartikeya 16 not out; Sreehari Nair 4/51). Match drawn.

Kerala 3 points; Madhya Pradesh 1 point. PTI SSC SSC AH AH