Ranji Trophy Quarterfinals Round Up: Pujara's fall gets Saurashtra in trouble, Sudha rescues Uttarakhand

Young Uttar Pradesh pacer Shivam Mavi did what Australia bowlers could not do for the majority of the Test series Down Under -- dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara cheaply as the hosts reduced Saurashtra to 170 for seven on day two of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal in Lucknow on Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh, resuming day two at 340 for seven, went on to make 385 all out in 103.3 overs with Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat taking a five-wicket haul.

The home team's pacers -- Mavi (3/39), Ankit Rajpoot (2/58), and Yash Dayal (2/35) -- then ripped through the visitors' batting. Saurashtra trail Uttar Pradesh by 215 runs going into day three.

While Rajpoot struck off successive balls to reduce the opposition to 35 for two, Mavi took two off two towards the end of the day including the wicket of opener Harvik Desai, the innings -top scorer so far with 84.

However, his most prized wicket was of Pujara (11), who came into the game fresh from his stellar showing in Australia where he scored three hundred to help India win their maiden Test series Down Under. Pujara lasted only 28 balls and his innings comprised two fours.

Prerak Mankad frustrated Uttar Pradesh with an unbeaten 42 and was batting alongside Dharmendrasinh Jadeja at stumps. 

Vinay, More help Karnataka take 39-run first innings lead

Former captain Vinay Kumar hit an unbeaten 83 and shared a crucial 97-run stand for the last wicket Ronit More (10) to help Karnataka take 39-run first innings lead against Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The rearguard action steered Karnataka to 263, forcing Rajasthan to concede lead for the first time this season. The hosts were struggling at 166 for nine at one stage but Vinay and More rescued the team from the troubled waters.

Vinay smashed 10 fours and two sixes in his 144 balls knock while More (10) played out 59 balls to support the former. 

Rajasthan had scored 224 on an opening day with the help of skipper Mahipal Lomrov (50) and Rajesh Bishnoi (79).

When stumps were drawn on the second day, Rajasthan were trailing by 28 runs, with Amit Kumar Gautam and Chetan Bist at the crease as the team reached 11 for no loss in three overs.

Leggie Rahul Chahar was the standout bowler for Rajasthan as he finished with figures of five for 93 runs.

Left-arm fast-medium TM ul-Haq and right arm medium Deepak Chahar, bagged three and two wickets each respectively.

Resuming at 12 without loss, opener Dega Nischal (6) was dismissed cheaply by Deepak Chahar.

After Ravikumar Samarth's wicket at 61 for 2, Rajasthan bowlers led by Haq and Rahul Chahar, ran through the lineup, pushing Karnataka into a deep hole.

The hosts lost seven wickets after adding 105 runs on the board. Krishnamurthy Siddharth shone with his bat by scoring a handy 52 runs off 91 balls decorated by eight boundaries.

Shreyas Gopal also made a useful 25 runs off 75 balls with three boundaries

Sudha, Panwar guide Uttarakhand to 293

Middle-order batsman Avneesh Sudha hit a patient 91 to guide Uttarakhand to a respectable 293 for six against reigning champions Vidarbha on day one of their Ranji Trophy quarter-finals in Nagpur on Tuesday.

Put in to bat at the Vidarbha Cricket Association's Stadium in Jamtha, Uttarakhand lost their skipper and opener Vineet Saxena (5) early after he was cleaned up by medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani.

The visitors were in a spot of bother as they lost two more wickets in quick succession - Vaibhav Bhatt (5) and Karnaveer Kaushal (31) - and were reduced to 44 for 3.

But then Sudha, a right-handed batsman, along with Vaibhav Singh Panwar (67 off 128 balls) resurrected the visitors' innings and steadied their ship.

The duo conjured a crucial 140-run stand for the fourth wicket to bail the side out of trouble and frustrate the Vidarbha bowlers.

Sudha, in his 180-ball innings, struck 14 boundaries.

The stand was broken when Panwar, who hit 12 boundaries in his knock, was dismissed when Uttarakhand were 4-184.

After Panwar's departure, Saurabh Rawat (68 not out) joined Sudha as the two added 48 runs for the fifth wicket.

But then Sudha missed a deserving hundred after being caught and bowled by off-spinner Akshay Wakhare.

At the close of play, Mayank Mishra (1 not out) was holding the fort with Rawat, who has struck eight fours and two other hits over the rope so far.

For the hosts, medium pacers Gurbani (2-72), Umesh Yadav (2-74) and spinner Wakhare (2-46) picked up two wickets each.

Brief Scores:

Uttarakhand 293 for 6 (Avneesh Sudha 91, Saurabh Rawat 68 not out; Akshay Wakhare 2-46) versus Vidarbha.