Services’ Arjun, Jangra record first-ever twin hat-tricks in one innings in Ranji Trophy history

Tinsukia: Services bowlers Arjun Sharma and Mohit Jangra recorded the first-ever instance of two bowlers taking hat-tricks in the history of the Ranji Trophy in their Elite Group C match against Assam here on Saturday.

On a day where a whopping 25 wickets fell, Assam still have a lead of 51 runs in the second innings reaching 56 for five in their second essay here at the Tinsukia District Sports Association Ground.

Assam were bowled out for 103 with Jangra returning 4-2-5-3 and Arjun taking 5/46 in his 6.1 overs and in reply, the home team struck hard as they bundled Services for 108 with a slender lead of five runs.

India player Riyan Parag led the charge for Assam as he claimed 5/25 in his 10 overs and Rahul Singh took 4/44 to help their side bounce back in the contest strongly.

However, Assam did not have a successful time with the bat in their second essay as they slipped to 56 for five by the time the stumps were drawn, leading by 51 runs in the second innings with Sumit Ghadigaonkar (17 not out) and Sibsankar Roy at the crease.

Arjun began with getting Parag caught by Mohit Ahlawat for 36 on the third ball of the 12th over of Assam’s first innings and on the following two deliveries, he dismissed Ghadigaonkar and Roy to complete his hat-trick.

The innings came to a rapid close for Assam who had slipped to 5/2 and then 45/5, when Jangra got into action to end Pradyun Saikia’s (52) resistance, getting him caught by Rajat Paliwal on the final ball of the 15th over.

He returned in the 17th over to dismiss Mukhtar Hussain (1) and Bhargab Lakhar (0) on the first two deliveries as Assam were shot out for 103 in only 17.2 overs.

In another Group C match, half-centuries from Sudeep Gharami (56), Abhishek Porel (51) and Sumanta Gupta’s unbeaten 58 took Bengal to 244 for seven in 72 overs against Gujarat at the Eden Gardens.

The hosts had slipped from 75 for one to 95 for four at one stage but fought hard till the end of the day’s play to have a respectable score on the board. For Gujarat, Siddharth Desai took 3/55.

At Ramnagar, visitors Railways were bolstered by Mohammad Saif’s strokeful 99 not out as they closed the day’s play reaching 233 for four.

Saif hammered six sixes and four boundaries to make 99 not out from 166 balls. He was accompanied by Bhargav Merai, who was batting on 44 not out for which he consumed 145 deliveries and hit three fours.

In Lahli, as many as 18 wickets fell on the opening day between Himachal Pradesh and visitors Tripura as the hosts were ahead by 29 runs in the first innings, reaching 155 for eight.

Tripura clambered to a mere 126 in their 48.1 overs with India batter Hanuma Vihari (33) and Swapnil Singh’s 44 being the only knocks of notice. Nikhil Kashyap took 4/34 and Parth Vats claimed 3/14 from his seven overs to cause the damage to the visitors.

However, it wasn’t any easy for the home team batters as Himachal Pradesh kept losing wickets regularly to reach 155 for eight, with No 5 Dheeru Singh making 40 before being dismissed by Mura Singh.

Brief scores -

At Tinsukia: Assam 103 in 17.2 overs (Pradyun Saikia 52, Riyan Parag 36; Mohit Jangra 3/5, Pulkit Narang 2/27, Arjun Sharma 5/46) & 56/5 in 21 overs (Sumit Ghadigaonkar 17 not out; Pulkit Narang 2/16, Arjun Sharma 2/12) lead Services 108 in 29.2 overs (Irfan Ali 51 not out; Riyan Parag 5/25, Rahul Singh 4/44) by 51 runs.

At Kolkata: Bengal 244/7 in 72 overs (Sudeep Gharami 56, Abhishek Porel 51, Sumanta Gupta 58 not out; Siddharth Desai 3/55) vs Gujarat.

At Ramnagar: Railways 233/4 in 89 overs (Vivek Singh 44, Mohammad Saif 99 not out, Bhargav Merai 44 not out; Abhay Negi 2/31) vs Uttarakhand.

At Lahli: Tripura 126 in 48.1 overs (Sridam Paul 34, Hanuma Vihari 33, Swapnil Singh 44; Nikhil Kashyap 4/34) trail Himachal Pradesh 155/8 in 39 overs (Dheeru Singh 40, Yashvardhan Dalal 34 not out; Swapnil Singh 5/66) by 29 runs.