Rookie spin all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed shone with a first-innings hat-trick in a six-wicket match haul as Bengal thrashed a sloppy Hyderabad by an innings and 303 runs for their first win of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season in Kalyani on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old, who was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League, claimed the feat in his seventh Ranji appearance. Ahmed (4/26) ran through the Hyderabad lower order to help his side bundle out the visitors for 171 in their first innings. Following on, Hyderabad were all out for 161 with Ahmed (2/51) accounting for two batsmen.

Shahbaz became the seventh player from Bengal, and first since India pacer Mohammed Shami, to claim a Ranji Trophy hat-trick. Shami had achieved the milestone against Madhya Pradesh in 2012-’13.

Rookie pacer Akash Deep (4/38) was the star in Hyderabad’s second essay as Hyderabad were bundled out in 46.2 overs. Bengal had scored 635 for seven declared in their first innings after electing to bat.

Having made his debut against Andhra three matches ago after Ashok Dinda was sacked for misconduct, Akash Deep took two wickets in his first two overs before his senior partner Mukesh Kumar (1/29) and Shahbaz got into the act to complete the victory inside three days.

Having lost to Vidarbha inside two days in their last outing, Bengal with this bonus point victory (19 points from five matches) now have bounced back in contention for a knockout berth.

Done in by conditions at Eden Gardens where they drew two matches, Bengal had chosen this venue about 70 kilometres from their base in Kolkata as they finally secured their first win at home this season.

It all went as per the script with seniormost batsman Manoj Tiwary setting up a solid foundation with his maiden triple century (303 not out) in Bengal’s massive total.

Then the young pace duo of Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep set up the tempo taking six wickets, five of them in the final session on day two, making it an easier task for hat-trick man Shahbaz. Bengal will take on Delhi at Eden Gardens from January 27, which will be their last home match.

Sarfaraz slams century

Sarfaraz Khan hit an unbeaten century as Mumbai fought back on the third day against Uttar Pradesh. UP had posted a mammoth 625/8 declared in their first essay, courtesy Upendra Yadavs unbeaten double hundred (203*).

Mumbai resumed the day on their overnight score of 20/2 and had a mountain to climb. Thanks to herculean effort by ‘crisis man’ Siddhesh Lad (98), who lived up to his billing and 22-year-old Sarfaraz (132), the duo gave Mumbai the confidence that UPs first- inning score could be overhauled.

Overnight batsmen Bhupen Lalwani (43) and Hardik Tamore (51) had an uphill task on hand of surviving the morning session against the experienced Ankit Rajpoot and Yash Dayal. They negated the challenge well and stitched a crucial 75-run stand for the third wicket.

Hardik Tamore, playing his second first-class game, hit flurry of boundaries, as the hosts surged ahead. The two respected the good balls, while hammered the loose ones.

However, pacer Wajid Ali gave the visitors the much needed break-through after he trapped Lalwani in front of the wicket as Mumbai lost their third wicket at 91.

Tamore then notched up his maiden first-class fifty by driving Ali through the covers for a four, but could not convert it into a big score. Rajpoot broke through Tamore’s defence to strike the middle-stump as Mumbai was 4/128, still behind by 497 runs.

Then Lad, who did not have a great season so far, and Sarfaraz joined hands as they conjured crucial 210-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Sarfaraz, who was playing against UP for the first time since returning to Mumbai from UP made the most of the opportunity which had come his way.

Lad and Sarfaraz took the UP bowlers to task and once again rallied the innings. While Lad played his usual game, Sarfaraz was more aggressive in his approach as they shared an unbroken 115-run stand till tea.

Vidarbha to go for kill vs Delhi on final day

Ganesh Sathish smashed his 15th first-class hundred as defending champions Vidarbha produced a power-packed batting performance raising visions of an outright victory over a depleted Delhi side.

The seasoned campaigner scored an even 100 off 92 balls and added 148 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand with Akshay Wadkar (70 off 82 balls) in little over 24 overs. Delhi, playing without an injured Ishant Sharma, looked listless on a placid track didn’t have the resolve to stop Vidarbha reaching 330/3 before setting a target of 347.

Delhi were 10 for no loss at stumps and will have to play out of their skins to get a point from the game. For the hosts, a poor show in this match will certainly dent their hopes of qualifying among top five teams from the cross-pool (group A and B). Meanwhile, Vidarbha’s outright win will be a giant stride towards quarter-final.

Ishant’s absence had a demoralizing effect on the Delhi attack as Simarjeet Singh (0/68 in 17 overs) suddenly lacked penetration on a track that eased out considerably.

Vinay Kumar stars in Puducherry win

Veteran R Vinay Kumar excelled with an all-round display as Puducherry climbed to the top of Plate Group table with a crushing 296-run win over Arunchal Pradesh here on Tuesday.

Overnight 36, number eight batsman Vinay Kumar remained the lone man standing with an unbeaten 81 as Puducherry were bundled out for 351 with Nabam Tempol grabbing 7 for 104.

The out-of-favour India seamer returned to haunt Arunchal Pradesh, grabbing 5 for 25 to bundle them out for 76 and seal a victory inside three days.

Vinay Kumar, who bagged 6/51 in the first innings, returned with a match haul of 11 wickets as Puducherry now have 33 points from six matches.

Jammu and Kashmir win

Jammu & Kashmir bounced back superbly after conceding first innings lead to pull off a four-wicket win over Odisha on the third day in Cuttack. Resuming its second innings at 136 for seven, Odisha could add only 30 runs as Umar Nazir picked up the last three wickets – Rajesh Mohanty, Suryakant Pradhan and Rajesh Dhuper.

Chasing 204 for a win, J&K opener Suryansh Raina (69) and Shubam Pundir (45) added 79 runs for the third wicket to lay the platform for an easy win. Abdul Samad with a knock of 30 not out and the first-innings bowling hero Aquib Nabi (26*) too the side over the finish line.

For the home team, Basant Mohanty bowled his heart out and picked up four wickets in the second innings but could not prevent J&K from romping home. In Delhi, Services pulled off an exciting one-wicket win over Haryana despite being shot out for 97 in the first innings.

Brief Scores:

Uttar Pradesh 625/8 declared vs Mumbai 353/5 (Sarfaraz Khan 132*; Siddhesh Lad 98; Ankit Rajpoot 3/63) Mumbai trailed by 272 runs.

At Dharamshala: Himachal Pradesh 496 v/s Baroda 150/2 (Vishnu Solanki 85*; Vaibhav Arora 1/42). Baroda trailed by 346 runs.

At Indore: Saurashtra 344 and 165/2 (Harvik Desai 65*; Cheteshwar Pujara 64 not out; Avesh Khan 1/31) v/s Madhya Pradesh 280 (Venkatesh Iyer 75; Yash Dubey 74, Jaydev Unadkat 4/45).

Odisha 161 (Shubhranshu Senapati 42; Aquib Nabi 5/39) and 166 (Shantanu Mishra 26, Anurag Sarangi 26; Umar Nazir 5/72, Auqib Nabi 2/40) lost to J&K 124 (Shubham Khajuria 40; Basant Mohanty 4/42) and 205/6 (Suryansh Raina 69, SS Pundir 45, Abdul Samad 30*; DB Pradhan 4/48) by four wickets. J&K: 6 points, Odisha: 0.

At Ranchi: Uttarakhand 227 (Saurabh Rawat 66, Tanmay Srivastava 49; Ajay Yadav 6/55, Ashish Kumar 4/52) and 273 all out (Saurabh Rawat 110; Ashish Kumar 5/61, Shahbaz Nadeem 3/67) vs Jharkhand 298 (Kumar Deobrat 85, K Suraj 57; Mayank Mishra 5/100) and 76/1 (Kumar Deobrat 33*).

At Guwahati: Maharashtra 175 (Ankit Bawane 75, SS Bachhav 40; Arup Das 4/66, Ranjeet Mali 4/55) and 365/9 (JS Pande 130, VV More 57, SS Bachhav 51*; Ranjeet Mali 5/123) vs Assam 244 (Rishav Das 94; SS Bachhav 4/44) and 12/0.

At Delhi: Haryana 176 and 133 lost to Services 97 and 215/9 (G Rahul Singh 115; AK Hooda 3/60, Harshal Patel 3/69). Services: 6 points, Haryana: 0.

At Puducherry: Puducherry 209 and 351 (R Vinay Kumar 81*, Paras Dogra 61; Nabam Tempol 7/104). Arunachal Pradesh 192 and 72 (Vinay Kumar 5/25). Puducherry won by 296 runs. Points: Puducherry 6, Arunachal Pradesh 0.

At Bhubaneswar: Mizoram 201 and 179. Sikkim 139 and 163 (Taruwar Kohli 6/52, G Lalbiakvela 3/69). Mizoram won by 78 runs. Points: Mizoram 6, Sikkim 0.

At Povorim: Goa 251 and 87/2; 27 overs (Smit Patel 40). Chandigarh 580/7 decl. (Shivam Bhambri 157, Bipul Sharma 103*, Manan Vohra 102).

At Sovima: Nagaland 166 and 76/2 (Shrikant Mundhe 49*). Bihar 509/7 decl. (MD Rahmatullah 106, Vikas Ranjan 103*, Babul Kumar 95, Shasheem Rathour 81).

In Delhi: Vidarbha 179 and 330/3 decl. (Ganesh Sathish 100*, Akshay Wadkar 70). Delhi 163 and 10/0.

In Kalyani: In Bengal 635/7 decl. Hyderabad 171 (Jaweed Ali 72; Shahbaz Ahmed 4/26, Mukesh Kumar 3/37, Akash Deep 3/66) and 161 (Ravi Teja 53; Akash Deep 4/38). Bengal won by an innings and 303 runs. Points: Bengal 7, Hyderabad 0.