Ranji Trophy 2022 | Records tumble, 1000-plus runs lead, Q/F berth, Jharkhand tick all boxes

The records went for a toss during the pre quarter-final match between Jharkhand and Nagaland in the Ranji Trophy in Kolkata. Jharkhand hammered the Nagaland bowling unit for a mammoth 880 runs in the first innings. 

Kushagra notched up a double ton and eventually scored 266 during the course while Shahbaz Nadeem struck 177. Apart from these two, Virat Singh also scored a century for his side in the first innings. For Nagaland, Imliwati Lemtur picked up four wickets while Khrievitso Kense got three. 

The Jharkhand bowlers then dominated the Nagaland side thoroughly and bundled them out for just 289 taking a mammoth first innings lead. It was only wicket-keeper batsman Chetan Bisht who showed some resistance as he went on to score a century and was not out at 122. Nadeem scalped a three-for while Sushant Mishra and Anukul Roy bagged a couple of wickets each. 

Jharkhand batters then continued from where they had left and piled up yet another huge total of 417/6 (D) in the second innings and stretched the lead past the 1000-run mark. Anukul scored 153 while Utkarsh Singh and Kushagra notched up individual fifties. 

The clash eventually ended in a draw with Jharkhand taking three points on the basis of first innings lead. 

“Our motive was never to go for records. Otherwise, the likes of Virat Singh, Saurabh Tiwary would have batted. Three-point was enough to seal a quarterfinal berth. The wicket was very flat, so we gave the part-time batters a go out there and express themselves,” Jharkhand head coach SS Rao told PTI.

“Our bowlers had to slog in the league round matches as most of our matches went till the final day. The temperature has also soared in the past few days in this part and we did not want to add to the workload of our bowlers who have been in the bubble for a long time now,” he added.