Services complete second highest chase against Odisha; J&K enter quarters with win over Baroda

Cuttack, Feb 2 (PTI) Riding on openers Shubham Rohilla’s 209 not out and Suraj Vashisht’s unbeaten 154, Services achieved the second highest successful run-chase in Ranji Trophy history as they overhauled a 376-run target against Odisha without losing a wicket in their Group A match here on Sunday.

Services’ effort is second only to Railways’ 378-run chase against Tripura in Agartala last year.

Vashisht and Rohilla’s unbroken 376-run partnership is also the second highest stand in a successful fourth-innings run-chase in First-Class cricket history.

Services were set the imposing target after Odisha notched 394 in the second innings, with Anil Parida remaining unbeaten on 99.

Odisha were bundled out for 180 in the first innings. In reply, Services managed just 199 in their first essay, taking a slender 19-run lead owing to Ravi Chauhan’s 120.

However, Vashisht and Rohilla produced a stunning effort on the fourth and final day of the game to see their team home in unbelievable fashion.

Resuming the day on overnight 46 for no loss, the duo of Vashisht and Rohilla went about their task in a professional manner and completed the job in 85.4 overs after maintaining a scoring rate of over four runs per over.

Rohilla struck 30 boundaries during his double century and faced 270 balls in all, while Vashisht hit 15 fours and a six in his 246-ball knock, as the Odisha bowlers toiled through the day without any success.

Services earned 10 points from the match including a bonus as they won the game by 10 wickets.

J&K humble Baroda in Vadodara

Jammu and Kashmir produced a fine performance to crush Baroda by 182 runs and seal their place in the quarterfinals of the premier domestic tournament.

With this win, J&K topped their group.

Having set Baroda a target of 365, J&K’s off-break bowler Sahil Lotra finished with career-best figures of 7/75 as his team bundled out Baroda for 182 in 54.5 overs.

Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq played the perfect foil to Lotra, returning figures of 3/71 while also taking the wicket of Baroda’s number 11 Akash Singh to seal a memorable win for J&K.

Baroda, who were bowled out for 166 in their first innings, were 58 for two overnight.

Meanwhile, the match between Maharashtra and Tripura in Solapur ended in a draw with the latter reaching 310 for five in their second innings on the final day. Both the captains decide to call it off at that stage of the game.

Maharashtra bagged three points owing to their first-innings lead, while Tripura got one.