Kolkata: Jharkhand batsmen showed no mercy against a futile attack from Nagaland as they continued their run-fest with the fourth-best team totaling 880 runs in the Ranji Trophy here on Monday. With Shahbaz Nadeem’s unbeaten 769/9 on 123 and Rahul Shukla’s at No. 11 resuming 769/9 in their overs, there was no announcement as Jharkhand’s last pair finished in 203.4 overs before being bowled out. Added 191 runs (in 323 balls).
The previous partnership was also the highest in the entire innings as they made full use of the flat batting position and down attack on offer from the plate toppers. Defending his strategy, Jharkhand’s batting coach Satish Singh termed it a “dead surface” on offer at the Eden Gardens and said his side gave their lower order much-needed batting practice ahead of a possible quarter-final clash against Bengal. Gave.
Left-arm spinner Imlivati Lemtoor (4/179) finally broke the partnership when Nadeem tried to reverse sweep he was caught lbw. In reply, Nagaland were 130/4 with two days left in the five-day knockout match as Jharkhand had a leg up on the post-IPL Ranji Trophy quarter-finals in June.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Chetan Bisht showed no signs of fatigue after defending wickets for nearly 204 overs in three days. The 32-year-old former Rajasthan gloveman remained unbeaten on 46 off 123 balls while Abu Nechim remained unbeaten on 13 on the third day.
During Jharkhand’s innings, left-arm spinner Nadeem hit a career-best 177 (in 304 balls) with 22 fours and two sixes. Shukla, on the other hand, mostly worked on sixes as he hit the ball over the boundary six times, hitting seven fours in an unbeaten 85 off 149 balls.
Jharkhand’s score of 880 is the highest Ranji total at the turn of the 21st century and Hyderabad’s 944/6 declared (vs Andhra Pradesh, 1993–94), Holkar’s 912/8 declared (vs Mysore, 1945–46) and Tamil Nadu’s total. Including the fourth one. 912/6 declared (vs Goa 1988-89).
“It was a flat wicket on offer. We just wanted to bat for practice, especially the lower order, who don’t get a chance to bat much.”
“It will not be an easy match in the Ranji quarter, most likely Bengal are on top. Hopefully it will come in handy in the knockouts as they (lower order) could have played 150-200 deliveries.”
Asked about evaluating Nagaland’s attack, he said: “It’s a bit difficult to judge their bowling on a dead pitch like this.
“It is a five-day match, so we had a lot of time. We wanted to bat as a unit. I told the batsmen that whatever gets set, play as long as you can.
“If you see, most of the plate matches played here were all big scores – in the 600-700 range,” he said.
Brief Scores:
Jharkhand: 880 all out in 203.4 overs (Kumar Kushagra 266, Shahbaz Nadeem 177, Virat Singh 107, Rahul Shukla 85 not out; Imliwati Lemtur 4/179, Khrievitso Kense 3/166) vs Nagaland 130/4 in 58 overs (Chetan Bist) 46 batting, Shrikant Mundhe 39).
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