Nagpur, Jan 30 (IANS) Reigning champions Vidarbha’s hopes of sealing an outright win to qualify for the knockouts suffered a setback as they failed to take the lead against Uttar Pradesh on day two of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash at the VCA Stadium on Friday.

Half-centuries from Danish Malewar (80) and Nachiket Bhute (63) had lifted Vidarbha from a precarious 95/6 and their 126-run stand threatened to secure a crucial first-innings lead for the hosts.

But India pacer Shivam Mavi’s incisive spell of 7/59 triggered a collapse, as Vidarbha went from 221/6 to 237 all out, leaving the scores level. At stumps, UP were 75/2 in their second innings, with skipper Aryan Juyal (35 not out) and Aaditya Sharma (25 not out) at the crease. With qualification on the line, Vidarbha’s bowlers face a stiff task to force a result.

At Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Sovima, Nagaland’s first-innings total of 366 was built around Chetan Bist’s 189, but Andhra responded with grit to reach 267/5 at stumps, though they still trail by 99 runs.

CR Gnaneshwar was unbeaten on 87, while Abhishek Reddy (51) and Karan Shinde (51) supported him well. Skipper Ricky Bhui added 46 before being dismissed, while KV Sasikanth (31 not out) offered late resistance. For Nagaland, pacer Vino Zhimomi impressed with figures of 4-45.

At Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand enjoyed a slight edge against Odisha by ending day two at 244/6 in reply to the visitors’ 282. Opener Shikhar Mohan struck a fluent 80 off 91 balls, laced with 14 fours and a six, while Kumar Kushagra (47) and skipper Virat Singh (32) chipped in and Robin Minz was unbeaten on 37 at stumps.

Earlier, Odisha added 41 runs to their overnight score before being bowled out, with Swastik Samal (79) and Govinda Poddar (64) the main contributors, while Saurabh Shekhar and Aditya Singh took three-fers each for Jharkhand.

At the Salem Cricket Foundation Ground, Baroda skipper Atit Sheth’s patient 109 took his side to 375 against Tamil Nadu. He was supported by Sukirt Pandey (84) and Ninad Rathva (66). Tamil Nadu’s spinners Jeganathan Hemchudeshan (6-120) and R Sai Kishore (4-90) were amongst the wicket-takers.

In reply, Tamil Nadu made a strong start, reaching 118 without loss in 36 overs at stumps. Vimal Kumar was batting on 66, while Athish SR was unbeaten on 42, as the duo set up an intriguing day three with the hosts trailing by 257 runs.

–IANS

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