Sudip Gharami ensured pacers Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep’s efforts early on Saturday didn’t go in vain. Gharami (112 batting) hit his seventh first-class ton, stretching Bengal to 199/5 at Stumps on Day II of their Ranji quarter-final in Kalyani in response to Andhra’s 295.

The hosts made a perfect start as Mukesh and Akash struck twice each to limit Andhra below 300, after they resumed on 264/6. But an all-too familiar batting collapse found Bengal wobbling at 43/3 with captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who failed yet again in a crunch game, his opening partner Sudip Chatterjee and Anustup Majumdar dismissed.

However, Gharami maintained his composure with Sumanta Gupta (22 batting) lending able support following the departure of Shahbaz Ahmed.

Mumbai fight back

At the Bandra-Kurla Complex ground, seasoned pacers Mohit Avasthi and Tushar Deshpande spearheaded a strong Mumbai comeback at home as they extended their lead over Karnataka to 136 on Day II of the quarter-final game.

Bowled out for 120 on Friday, Mumbai bounced back in style to bundle Karnataka out for 173, courtesy of incisive spells from Avasthi (4/27) and Deshpande (4/33). At
Stumps, Akash Anand and Musheer Khan are 53 and 49, respectively, to give Mumbai the upper hand.

In Indore, pacer Auqib Nabi took 7/40 to help Jammu and Kashmir bowl Madhya Pradesh out for 152 on Day II. Despite their 42-run lead, J&K were in trouble at 84/5 at Stumps in their second essay.

In Jamshedpur, Uttarakhand have taken a handy first-innings lead, reaching 282/5 in response to Jharkhand’s 235.

Brief scores: Andhra 295 (Mukesh Kumar 5/66, Akash Deep 4/79). Bengal 199/5 (Sudip Gharami 112 batting). At Stumps, Day II.