Ranji round-up: Jadeja demolishes Delhi, Thakur rescues Mumbai yet again
Written by I Dig Sports
Highlights from day two of the sixth round of matches
Thakur Lords over J&K after Rohit misses out again
A win for either side will take them a step closer to the playoffs. A loss won't mean the end of the road either. But J&K have a tougher next opponent in Baroda, who are the current table-toppers, as compared to Mumbai, who play minnows Meghalaya.
Jadeja takes 12; Pant endures unhappy Ranji return
Smaran's time in the sun
In the first half of the season, Smaran had scored 145 runs in seven innings without a half-century. But the selectors kept faith in him and other youngsters, and phased out a key senior player in Manish Pandey ahead of the white-ball leg of the season. Smaran took Pandey's position at No. 4, and played an innings that hinted at a bright future.
Smaran's initiation into the Karnataka set-up comes on the back of plenty of runs at the Under-23 level. In 2023-24, he hit 872 runs in the CK Nayudu Trophy, including a match-winning hundred in the final against Uttar Pradesh. He also enjoyed a stellar run at the Maharaja Trophy, the state's local T20 competition.
What to look forward to on Saturday
- He was preparing for a Test debut at this time last year, but Rajat Patidar now finds himself lower down in the pecking order after missing out even on the India A tour of Australia. But a strong back end of the first-class season, and a good IPL, could propel him back. For starters, he will look to covert his unbeaten half-century into a big innings as Madhya Pradesh look to build a sizeable lead after conceding first-innings honours to Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram.
- In Bengaluru, Shubman Gill will face a stern test against a young Karnataka pace attack after Punjab have been run ragged for nearly two days. Having begun their second innings facing a 420-run deficit, they are 24 for 2. Gill, who was out to an inside-edge to the keeper while attempting a drive off left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty in the first innings, is batting on 7.
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