KOLKATA: Looking for a turnaround in their
Ranji Trophy
fortunes, Jharkhand suffered a setback before
Kumar Kushagra
(69 batting, 110 balls, 7×4) and captain
Virat Singh
(85 batting, 202 balls, 11×4) helped them recover from 65 for four to end Day 1 of their Elite Group A game against Services on 195 for four from 71 overs at Palam A Ground in Delhi on Friday.
Asked to bat first after a delayed start due to bad weather prevailing in the northern part of the country, the Virat Singh-led Jharkhand were on the mat losing first three wickets for just eight runs on board in sixth over before former captain
Saurabh Tiwary
joined hands with the present skipper to arrest the slide.
The duo put on 57 runs for the fourth wicket before the veteran southpaw Tiwary departed after being caught in front of the stumps by off-spinner Nitin Tanwar. Given the situation his team was in, Tiwary played an uncharacteristic innings for 82-ball 18 with three boundaries.
Kushagra then joined Virat to stitch together an unbeaten 130-run stand which made sure Jharkhand finish the day on a better position than before. For Services, right-arm medium pacer Varun Choudhary was the pick of the bowlers with two for 18 while seamer Nitin Yadav and Tanwar took one wicket apiece.
Brief scores: Jharkhand 195/4 in 71 overs (Virat Singh 85 batting, Kumar Kushagra 69 batting; Varun Choudhary 2/18) vs Services.
Match to continue…