Saurashtra fight back; Bengal continue to dominate

NEW DELHI: Fantastic centuries by Sheldon Jackson and Arpit Vasavada led Saurashtra's fightback against Karnataka while Bengal continued to dominate defending champions Madhya Pradesh on the third day of their respective 2022-23 Ranji Trophy semi-final matches on Friday.

At the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, Saurashtra were 364 for 4 at stumps, trailing by just 43 runs against Karnataka with Arpit Vasavada (112 not out) and Chirag Jani (19 not out) unbeaten at the crease.

Sheldon Jackson was the star performer for Saurashtra on Day 3 with a 245-ball 160. He also stitched a vital fourth-wicket stand of 232 with Arpit Vasavada.

Earlier, Karnataka began the day on a positive note with Vidhwath Kaverappa dismissing Vishvaraj Jadeja for 22. However, Jackson and Vasavada led Saurashtra's recovery and also gave them control in the game.

Krishnappa Gowtham was the only other Karnataka bowler to pick up a wicket during the course of the day as he got rid of Jackson by trapping him in front of the wicket.

In the other semi-final in Indore, Akash Deep continued his brilliant form in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 with a five-for as Bengal continued to dominate Madhya Pradesh. At stumps, Bengal were 59 for 2, in front by 327 runs.

Akash, who bagged his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, ripped through MP's batting unit, taking the wickets of Saransh Jain, Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kartikeya, Yash Dubey and Avesh Khan. Apart from this, the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel also picked up wickets as Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 170 in 79 overs. Jain with his knock of 65 was the top-scorer for MP while Shubham Sharma remained unbeaten on 44. Jain and Kartikeya then picked up a wicket each but MP have a lot of work to make a comeback in the game.

Brief scores:

Karnataka 407 (Mayank Agarwal 249; Chetan Sakariya 3-73) lead Saurashtra 364/4 (Sheldon Jackson 160, Arpit Vasavada 112 not out) by 43 runs.

Bengal 438 (Anustup Majumdar 120, Sudip Gharami 112; Kumar Kartikeya 3/95) and 59/2 (Saranch Jain 1-13) lead Madhya Pradesh 170 (Saransh Jain 65; Akash Deep 5-42) by 327 runs.

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