UP’s Rinku knocks on selectors’ door with 176

Coimbatore: Known for his ability to pull off last-over miracles in T20s, the swashbuckling Rinku Singh on Wednesday showed his wares in the long-form game with a career-best 176 to help Uttar Pradesh secure the vital first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy game here.

The Group A clash ended in a draw on the fourth and final day with visiting UP receiving three points after amassing 460 all out in response to Tamil Nadu’s first-innings total of 455. The home team got one point from the game.

That UP managed to take a slender five-run lead was largely due to Rinku’s knock and some useful contributions from the lower-order batters, including Shivam Mavi’s 54.

Rinku smashed 17 fours and six sixes during his stay in the middle. He was batting on 98 at stumps on the third evening and faced a total of 247 balls across two days. At a time when the Indian team is struggling to play spin in Test matches at home, Rinku’s knock assumes significance as it offers the national selectors an option.

In the group’s other big match, former champions Vidarbha completed a facile 144-run win over Baroda after pacer Darshan Nalkande’s career-best figures of 5/12 in Nagpur. Vidarbha grabbed full six points from the outright win to consolidate their numero uno position in the standings.

Meanwhile, in Kalyani, Assam fought hard all day long with the bat to force a draw as hosts Bengal settled for three points courtesy of a first-innings lead in their Elite Group C match. Resuming at 98/3 with 144 runs in arrears in the second innings, Assam finished at 282/9 with fiftys from skipper Sumit Ghadigaonkar (67 off 222), Denish Das (73 off 133) and Sibsankar Roy (52 off 144).