Ranji Trophy Round-up Day 3: Aarya Desai hits double ton, Mahipal Lomror roars after RCB departure

The Ranji Trophy continued with intense battles across the country on Day 3, with some teams inching closer to victory while others held their ground with some good performances.

Highlights included the double-century from Aarya Desai, a gritty knock by Hyderabad’s Rahul Radesh, and a superb display from Vidarbha’s Yash Rathod and Dhruv Shore. Centry from Mahipal Lomror for Rajasthan, 6 wickets from Shams Mulani and Haryana’s win over Punjab were other high points of the day. Here’s a roundup of the key moments from Day 3.

Aarya Desai shines for Gujarat

Aarya Desai’s stunning double-century was the highlight of Gujarat’s innings against Puducherry in the Ranji Trophy on Day 3. His 200 runs off 342 balls, including 26 boundaries and 3 sixes, put Gujarat in a strong position, despite trailing by just 2 runs. Gujarat scored 359/9 in response to Puducherry’s 361.

Aarya’s performance, backed by key lower-order partnerships, showed great composure under pressure. The match sets up an exciting final day, with Gujarat aiming for a lead and a potential win.

Shams Mulani’s magic on the pitch

After scoring 602 runs on the first two days, Mumbai’s bowlers struck consistently in the second innings, Shams Mulani’s 6 wickets helped Mumbai to force a follow-on after bundeling up Odisha for 285 runs. At the end of the day 3, Odisha seem struggling, as they are currently at 126/5, trailing by 191 runs. Mow, Mumbai appears to gain a comfortable win.

Haryana gets the nail-biting win over Punjab

In a tense finish, Haryana held their nerve to defeat Punjab by 37 runs. Jayant Yadav picked up the last wicket, securing a hard-fought victory and reinforcing Haryana’s position at the top of the points table. Needing 134 runs to win on Day 3, Punjab struggled against Haryana’s bowling attack. Player of the match, Nishant Sindhu led the charge, making early inroads by dismissing Punjab’s top order, including the dangerous Prabhsimran Singh.

Despite a half-century of fighting from wicketkeeper Salil Arora, Punjab’s middle order failed to sustain partnerships. Haryana bowlers maintained pressure, picking up wickets at regular intervals to prevent Punjab from getting the chase, as they went all out for 179. Nishant was crowned player of the match for taking a total of 11 wickets in the two innings.

Lomror replies to Rahul Radesh’s innings

Hyderabad’s Rahul Radesh showcased a marathon innings, framing 1000 off 268 balls to guide his team to a strong position against Rajasthan. His play drew comparisons to Cheteshwar Pujara, adding a boost to Hyderabad’s campaign in the tournament.

Hyderabad now holds a narrow 12-run lead over Rajasthan, setting up a nail-biting Day 4. After Hyderabad posted a solid 410 in their first innings, Rajasthan responded strongly with 425, led by Mahipal Lomror’s knock of 111 runs supported by Shubham’s Garwhal’s 77. With only one day left, Hyderabad advanced to 27/0 in their second innings.

Assam gives challenge to Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu finds themselves trailing by 99 runs at the end of Day 3. Assam posted a strong total of 445 in their first innings, with a standout performance from Denish Das (109) and Swarupam Purkayastha (90). In reply, Tamil Nadu’s first innings saw them score 338, with contributions from Vijay Shankar (76) and C Andre Siddarth (94).

In their second innings, Tamil Nadu started cautiously, reaching 8/0 by the close of play, with Suresh Lokeshwar (2) and Narayan Jagadeesan (5) at the crease.

Kerala vs Uttar Pradesh: Rain hampers play

Persistent rain in Trivandrum halted play on Day 3 between Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, with UP trailing by 167 runs at 66/2. Kerala’s innings was supported by a solid score of 395, but unpredictable weather may be the deciding factor in this match.

Ranji Trophy Day-3 brief scores

• Maharashtra 185 & 52/3 (20.0 overs) vs Services 293 & 230/7 (35.0 overs)
• Mumbai 602/4d (123.5 overs) vs Odisha 285 & 126/5 (42.0 overs)
• Gujarat 359/9 (118.0 overs) vs Pondicherry 361 (127.2 overs)
• Vidarbha 575/1 (140.1 overs) vs Himachal Pradesh 307 & 51/2 (15.0 overs)
• Rajasthan 425/8 (108.2 overs) vs Hyderabad 410 & 36/0 (7.0 overs)
• Karnataka 221 (82.1 overs) vs Bengal 301 & 127/3 (44.0 overs)
• Kerala 395/4 (124.1 overs) vs Uttar Pradesh 162 & 66/2 (18.0 overs)
• Chandigarh 324 (92.0 overs) & 46/0 (11.0 overs) vs Delhi 276 & 250/8 (86.1 overs)
• Arunachal Pradesh 115 (38.5 overs) & 190/4 (43.1 overs) vs Manipur 266 (88.0 overs) & 359/7d (85.3 overs)
• Chhattisgarh 500/9d (154.5 overs) vs Railways 323/3 (100.0 overs)
• Andhra 146 (56.3 overs) & 8/1 (14.1 overs) vs Uttarakhand 338 (135.2 overs) & 128/9d (49.0 overs)
• Bihar 331/8 (130.5 overs) vs Madhya Pradesh 616 (130.2 overs)
• Jharkhand 306 (85.2 overs) & 74/1 (20.0 overs) vs Saurashtra 386 (108.3 overs)
• Tripura 482/7d (120.1 overs) vs Baroda 235 (82.2 overs) & 37/0 (16.0 overs)
• Assam 445 (146.2 overs) vs Tamil Nadu 338 (98.4 overs) & 8/0 (4.0 overs)
• Nagaland 347 (123.0 overs) vs Sikkim 192 (106.0 overs) & 71/7 (31.0 overs)