Nayudu Trophy: Kanpur bowlers shine against Jharkhand in quarterfinal clash

Kanpur: Kanpur bowlers revitalised UP's prospects against Jharkhand in the Nayudu trophy quarter-final clash as they regained momentum at the end of the third day at Green Park on Wednesday.
Though the visiting Jharkhand team secured a crucial 8-run lead in the first innings after dismissing UP for 419 runs and secured their semi-final berth, UP bowlers retaliated in Jharkhand's second innings, claiming four wickets for 118 runs in the final session.
Jharkhand now holds a total lead of 126 runs with six second-innings wickets remaining, and Thursday marks the final day. UP bowlers aim to swiftly dismiss Jharkhand's second innings for a minimal score to chase down the target. Conversely, Jharkhand batsmen intend to occupy the crease, limiting UP's batting opportunity.
Swastik Chikra and Siddharth Yadav's centuries proved insufficient as UP fell short of Jharkhand's first innings total of 427. UP's innings mirrored Jharkhand's pattern. Resuming from their overnight score of 256/2, UP lost Swastik early, adding merely 6 runs. Sahil Raj claimed his prized wicket with Rajan Deep taking the slip catch. Swastik and Siddharth had orchestrated the innings' highest partnership of 232 runs.
UP suffered another setback when Sameer Rizvi departed for one, dismissed by Jatin, who emerged as the premier bowler with seven wickets. The hosts lost these wickets pre-lunch, adding 109 runs. The lunch score stood at 365/4, with UP requiring 62 runs for parity. Aaradhya Yadav and Siddharth Yadav remained at the crease. Post-lunch witnessed UP's remaining wickets falling systematically. Aaradhya departed for 61, trapped lbw by Jatin. Prashant Veer and Vipraj Nigam followed, both dismissed by Jatin without scoring. At 410/7, UP needed 18 runs for the first-innings lead. Shubham Mishra's dismissal was followed by Siddharth Yadav's departure, caught by Robin Minz off Sahil Raj. His 160 came from 234 deliveries, including 18 boundaries and 2 sixes.
A miscommunication between Kunal Tyagi and Naman Tiwari resulted in Kunal's run-out for 7, concluding UP's innings. In the final session, Vipraj Nigam damaged Jharkhand's second innings with three wickets, while Prashant Veer dismissed Aryan Hooda, who had scored a century in the first innings.
Shikhar Mohan and Aryan Hooda provided a steady 56-run opening stand before Vipraj bowled Shikhar for 30. He subsequently dismissed Satya Setu and Rajan Deep for 8 and 5 respectively.
Prashant Veer trapped Aryan Hooda lbw for 53 in the day's final over. At stumps, captain Sahil Raj and Om Singh remained unbeaten on 14 and 3 respectively.
Brief score: Jharkhand first innings-427 and second innings-118/4 (Shikhar Mohan 30, Aryan Hooda 53, Sahil Raj batting 14, Om Singh batting 3, Vipraj Nigam 3/46, Prashant Veer 1/1).
UP first innings-256/2 overnight (Swastik Chikara 153, Adarsh Singh 10, Siddharth Yadav 160, Aaradhya Yadav 61, Shubham Mishra 11, Sahil Raj 2/98, Jatin 7/74).