Jamshedpur, February 8 Uttarakhand delivered a dominant performance, defeating Jharkhand by an innings, with the pace-spin combination of Abhay Negi and Mayank Mishra dominating the opposition on Day 3, securing a spot in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals on Sunday.
Uttarakhand's veteran left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra bowled brilliantly, taking 5 wickets for 22, while Negi bowled with relentless intensity, claiming 4 wickets for 36. The pair bowled out Jharkhand for a paltry 130, securing a convincing victory by an innings and six runs.
Resuming from their overnight score of 282 for 5, Uttarakhand tightened their grip on the match on Day 3, extending their lead before being bowled out for 371 in 122.3 overs.
The 136-run lead proved decisive, with Abhay Negi scoring a crucial 46 that put pressure on the reeling Jharkhand.
Similar to their first innings collapse, where stalwarts Kumar Kushagra and captain Virat Singh failed to perform, Jharkhand began their second innings in a similar manner.
Jharkhand's innings quickly unravelled, with openers Shikhar Mohan and Sharandeep Singh getting out for single-digit scores by the fourth over, leaving them at 14 for 2. Negi then took two more wickets.
Despite a promising 86-run partnership for the third wicket, Virat Singh (55) and Kumar Kushagra (34) could not build on it, leaving Jharkhand without the crucial innings they needed.
Aditya Singh, who had played a cautious innings of 83 earlier, struggled and got out for just 9, as Jharkhand collapsed spectacularly – six wickets fell for single-digit scores, including three ducks.
From 100 for 3, Jharkhand collapsed to 126 for 9, with Mishra dominating the middle and lower order, taking a match haul of eight wickets.
Brief Scores:
Jharkhand: 235 and 130 in 41.1 overs (Virat Singh 55; Abhay Negi 4/36, Mayank Mishra 5/22)
Uttarakhand: 371 all out in 122.3 overs (Avneesh Sudha 64, Kunal Chandela 68, Jagadeesha Suchith 70, Abhay Negi 46; Jatin Pandey 2/72, Sahil Raj 2/59, Saurabh Shekhar 2/75, Aditya Singh 2/57)