An Assam batsman leaves a delivery at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Oct. 31: Assam failed to capitalise on their dream performance yesterday and suffered a batting debacle, handing Jharkhand a 61-run first innings lead on a silver platter on the second day of the four-day C.K. Nayudu Trophy East Zone league match at Nehru Stadium here today.

Credit goes to the disciplined bowling of the Jharkhand outfit, which bowled to its strengths and gave their hosts literally no room to play their shots. Assam were all out for a mere 144 in their first innings today.

In their second innings, the visitors were 70 for three in 33 overs at the draw of stumps. The Assam bowlers yesterday had restricted Jharkhand to 205 in the first innings.

Despite Assam’s batting collapse today, Ranji player Tajinder Singh justified his call to the senior side for the Ranji matches ahead by playing a steady knock of 54 runs. He was the only notable scorer for the hosts today.

Assam resumed their innings on an overnight score of 11 for no loss on an ideal batting track. But the home batsmen failed to take advantage of the situation and three wickets tumbled quickly with only 38 runs on the board. Singh, however, played a sheet-anchor’s role at one end, sharing a steady 36-run partnership with Utpal Medhi (14) to put up the only notable partnership of the innings.

Singh spent 154 minutes at the crease facing 113 balls to meticulously score his 54 runs with the help of five boundaries. He however made an unceremonious exit when he played a reckless shot off Samar Kadri to be caught by Abhishek Moitra. Apart from Singh and Medhi, Prakash Bhagat (16) was the only other Assam batsman to score in double figures.

Kadri was the wrecker-in-chief among the Jharkhand bowlers having hauled four for 29 while Ashish Kumar and Jagjeet Singh picked up two wickets each for 29 and 25 respectively.

In the second innings, the Jharkhand batsman began as cautiously as yesterday, but they lost their first wicket with only 36 on the board in the 15th over when opener Nishat Kumar (20, 3x4) misread a Prasanta Sonowal delivery to be caught by Prakash Bhagat.

However, fellow opener Rameez Neemat remained unbeaten on 25 at the end of the day’s play with S.P. Goutam at the other end on five.

Sonowal, who picked up five wickets in the first innings, today scalped two for 35 while Nikhil Sinha ran himself out for three runs to his credit.