Ranji Trophy, quarter-finals: Shreyas, Easwaran among top performers (Day 3)
Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy 2023 quarter-finals witnessed plenty of action. All-rounder Shreyas Gopal's unbeaten century put Karnataka on top against Uttarakhand. Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran continued his bright form having scored a fine fifty. Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari drew praise for his incredible team spirit as he batted with a fractured right arm. Meanwhile, the Saurashtra-Punjab encounter is evenly poised.
A special knock by Shreyas
After bowling out Uttarakhand (116), Karnataka were 123/0. Ravikumar Samarth and Mayank Agarwal had returned unbeaten. Each of their top four batters registered 50+ scores, while Shreyas came to the middle at 307/4. He completed a century stand with Manish Pandey before adding crucial runs with Sharath BR and K Gowtham. Shreyas returned unbeaten on 161 (288) as Karnataka managed 606.
Shreyas races past 3,000 FC runs
It was the fifth century of Shreyas' First-Class career. He also has 13 half-centuries in the format. Shreyas raced past 3,000 First-Class runs in what was his 75th appearance. Shreyas' unbeaten 161 is now his best score in red-ball cricket. He has 702 and 459 runs in List A and T20 cricket, respectively. The wrist-spinner also has over 200 wickets in First-Class cricket.
A fine fifty by Easwaran
Bengal didn't get off to a brilliant start as opener Kazi Saifi (1) perished cheaply. Nevertheless, Easwaran joined forces with number-three batter Sudip Gharami and the duo added 136 runs for the second wicket. The latter slammed a 108-ball 68. While Easwaran was watchful against the challenging deliveries, he dispatched the loose ones for boundaries. He managed 77 off 155 balls (10 fours).
Eighth 50-plus score in eight games
As mentioned, this was Easwaran's eighth fifty-plus score in as many red-ball games. Prior to his fifty versus Jharkhand, his scores in his last eight FC games read 27, 101, 57, 22, 9, 165, 83*, 170, 157, and 141. With 710 runs in six games at 88.75, Easwaran is currently Bengal's highest run-getter this season. No other Bengal batter owns 650 or more runs.
Hanuma Vihari draws praise
Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari came out to bat despite suffering from a left-forearm fracture. He showed his bravery in the second innings when Andhra were reeling at 76/9. The Andhra captain turned to a left-handed batter and smacked 15 off 16. The knock included three boundaries. Andhra were bowled out for 93, giving Madhya Pradesh a target of 245 runs.
