Ranji Trophy: No Shami magic as U’khand fight back against Bengal; J&K eye heist vs Mumbai

Kolkata: A superb six-wicket haul by Devendra Singh Bora and composed batting, led by Prashant Chopra and skipper Kunal Chandela, helped Uttarakhand fight back strongly against Bengal on Day 3 of their Ranji Trophy Group C clash here Friday.

Resuming at 274/6, Bengal were bowled out for 323, thanks largely to Bora’s fiery spell that fetched him career-best figures of 6 for 79. The right-arm seamer struck twice in quick succession in the morning session, removing overnight batter Sumanta Gupta for 82, and later accounting for Akash Deep to complete his six-wicket haul.

Gupta’s dismissal ended Bengal’s hopes of stretching their total beyond 350, as the last four wickets fell for just 49 runs. In reply, Uttarakhand showed remarkable grit with the bat, reaching 165/2 at stumps to lead by 55 runs.

Senior pacer Mohammed Shami was disciplined, conceding just 21 runs in 15 overs but he did not get any breakthroughs for the hosts. In the first innings also he could get wickets only in the latter half of the day, while bowling to lower-order batters.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir need 222 runs on the final day to beat a star-studded Mumbai who had a first-innings lead of 61 in the morning session only to lose some advantage getting all-out for 181 in their second innings.

Saurashtra’s last-wicket pair of Chetan Sakariya and Yuvrajsinh Dodiya waged a grim battle to give their team a crucial four-run first innings lead despite Karnataka leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal grabbing eight wickets in a superb spell.