Gurinder puts Meghalaya on top, Uttarakhand eye fourth win on trot

Gurinder Singh put up an all-round show as Meghalaya had Manipur on the mat in their Ranji Trophy Plate Group fixture at the Jadavpur University Saltlake Campus ground here Thursday.

Gurinder first excelled with the bat with a fine 55, as three other Meghalaya batsmen -- opener Raj Biswa (87) and Puneet Bisht (92) -- struck half centuries to give their side a first innings lead, notching 326.

Left-arm spinner Gurinder then returned with an impressive 5/21 to restrict Manipur to 125/8 at close on day two for a slender 10-run lead.

Skipper Yashpal Singh waged a lone battle with an unbeaten 69 in Manipur's second innings.

Riding on Kartik Joshi's maiden first-class double century, Plate group leaders Uttarakhand remained on course for a fourth successive win in their match against 'home' team Arunachal Pradesh at the DN Singha Stadium in Goalpara in Assam.

After bundling out Arunachal Pradesh for a paltry 105 on day one, Uttarakhand had the home side at 98/2 at close of play on day two.

Arunachal Pradesh still trailed by 267 runs with eight wickets in hand and Uttarakhand will be eyeing a third bonus-point victory.

Playing in his third first-class match, the 22-year-old Joshi slammed an unbeaten 208 from 308 balls (19x4).

Skipper Rajat Bhatia struck a brisk 152 not out from 142 balls (17x4, 3x6) as the duo put on an unbroken 244 runs before declaring their first innings for 470/4.

Overnight 99, Joshi showed fine composure to get to his first triple figure before his skipper Bhatia joined the party.

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