Sarfaraz Khan's 227 puts Mumbai in command against Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Jan 23 (PTI) Sarfaraz Khan's strokeful 227 gave Mumbai the bragging rights even as Hyderabad reached 138/2 at stumps on day two, trailing by a massive 422 runs in the first innings of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash here on Friday.

Sarfaraz, resuming on 142, converted his first ton of the season into a huge score against a bowling attack led by star India pacer Mohammed Siraj (1/106), clobbering 19 fours and nine sixes to continue his rich vein of form.

Suved Parkar, picked in place of Ajinkya Rahane, gave a good account of himself by scoring 75 as Mumbai piled up a massive 560 in their first innings.

Hyderabad stumbled early on by losing two wickets, but Rahul Gahlaut (82 not out) and Kodimela Himateja (40 not out) saw them through till the close of play by putting on an unbeaten 100-run stand for the third wicket.

Meanwhile, bad light stopped Puducherry's advance against a struggling Jammu and Kashmir, who had slipped to 150 for six in reply to the hosts' 233.

Abdul Samad was batting on 40 not out with Abid Mushtaq (1 not out) at the other end as J & K trailed by another 83 runs in the first innings.

Delhi, who were shot out for 216 on day one, were under tremendous pressure against Chhattisgarh who reached 351 for two, having conceded a first-innings lead of 135 runs.

Ayush Pandey led Chhattisgarh’s charge with a splendid 161 not out (313 balls; 17 fours, 1 six) while Anuj Tiwary scored 108 (197 balls, 14 fours).

Rajasthan were also in dire straits, trailing by 293 runs in the first essay after slipping to a poor 113 for six against Himachal Pradesh’s 406.

Resuming at 314/4, HP looked to record a big total but Rajasthan did well to pull things back, taking six wickets for 86 runs on the second day morning.

However, Mukul Negi (3/16) and Aryaman Dhaliwal (2/35) gave HP control of the game with regular strikes in the post-tea session wherein Rajasthan slipped from 58 for two to 115/6.

Brief scores: At Hyderabad: Mumbai 560 in 123.2 overs (Siddhesh Lad 104, Sarfaraz Khan 227, Suved Parkar 75; Rakshann Readdi 4/107) lead Hyderabad 138/2 in 41 overs (Rahul Gahlaut 82 not out, Kodimela Himateja 40 not out; Himanshu Singh 1/18) by 422 runs.

At Puducherry: Puducherry 233 lead Jammu & Kashmir 150/6 in 60 overs (Shubham Khajuria 46, Abdul Samad 40 not out; Safar Udeshi 2/41) by 83 runs.

At COE (Bengaluru): Delhi 216 trail Chhattisgarh 351/2 in 102 overs (Ayush Pandey 161 not out, Anuj Tiwary 108; Divij Mehra 1/41) by 135 runs.

At Jaipur: Himachal Pradesh 406 in 122.1 overs (Ankush Bains 72, Pukhraj Mann 118, Nikhil Gangta 84; Khaleel Ahmed 3/68) lead Rajasthan 115/6 in 39 overs (Salman Khan 32; Mukul Negi 3/16, Aryaman Dhaliwal 2/35) by 293 runs. PTI DDV AH AH