Ranji Trophy Group A: Sharandeep Singh’s ton boosts Jharkhand against Andhra

Sharandeep Singh struck a 209-ball 115 to lead Jharkhand to 259/6 against Andhra on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash in Jamshedpur. Partnerships with Virat Singh and Aditya Singh helped Jharkhand recover after early setbacks

Jamshedpur: Young opener Sharandeep Singh overcame a lean patch to score a century as Jharkhand looked set for a 300-plus score on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match against Andhra here on Sunday.

Sharandeep, 22, came good after back-to-back disappointments by scoring a 209-ball 115 as he led his side to 259 for six after a poor start, which saw Jharkhand’s top order fail to make an impact on their home turf.

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With opener Shikhar Mohan and last game’s double-centurion Kumar Kushagra dismissed early, Sharandeep, who had two single-digit scores against Baroda in the previous game and just one half-century this season, came up with inspired batting to make a big contribution.

Playing in his 11th first-class game, Sharandeep, who will turn 23 in 10 days, relied on ground strokes to smash 16 boundaries and share two vital half-century partnerships with skipper Virat Singh (41) and Aditya Singh (29).

The right-hand batter first stitched a 78-run stand with Virat and then a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Aditya as Jharkhand recovered from 73 for two.

Andhra’s veteran pacer KV Sasikanth (3/50) and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar (2/63) managed to tie down the Jharkhand batters, who have already scored two 500-plus totals this Ranji season.

In Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu batting stalwart Baba Indrajith scored an unbeaten 128, his 17th first-class ton, while teenage middle-order batter C Andre Siddarth hit 121 as the southern team reached 282 for five in 81.3 overs against Uttar Pradesh.

In Nagpur, table-toppers Vidarbha suffered a middle-order collapse to be all out for 169 in 58 overs against Baroda. The visitors then reached 70 for two thanks to a 59-run stand between Jyotsnil Singh (27 not out) and Shashwat Rawat (33).

Brief scores:

Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 259 for 6 in 87 overs (Sharandeep Singh 115, Virat Singh 41; KV Sasikanth 3/50, Saurabh Kumar 2/63) vs Andhra.

Bhubaneswar: Odisha 243 for 7 in 89 overs (Biplab Samantray 92, Anil Parida 98 not out; Ronit More 2/45, Imliwati Lemtur 2/25, Rongsen Jonathan 2/61) vs Nagaland.

Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu 282 for 5 in 81.3 overs (Baba Indrajith 128 not out, C Andre Siddarth 121; Kunal Tyagi 2/23) vs Uttar Pradesh.

Nagpur: Vidarbha 169 in 58 overs (Yash Rathod 40 not out; Ninad Rathva 5/47, Atit Sheth 2/25) vs Baroda 70 for 2 in 30.5 overs (Nachiket Bhute 2/7).