Ranji Trophy: Shah’s maiden double ton takes Maharashtra to 415, Assam 81/2 in reply

Rohtak, Feb. 18 (PTI): Debutant Pavan Shah slammed his maiden double hundred to take Mahrashtra to an imposing 415 and put them in a commanding position against Assam on the second day of their Elite Group G Ranji Trophy game here on Friday.

The 22-year-old Shah, a right-handed batter, who hails from Chinchwad near Pune, took the pedestrian Assam attack to cleaners as he hammered 20 boundaries and two maximums enroute his 219 off 401 balls.

Shah started from his overnight score on unbeaten 165, and remained the cynosure of eyes at the Choudhry Bansilal stadium here, as he kept playing his shots at will.

The right-handed batter, a product of the Verroc Vengsarkar academy, stitched a 112-run stand with number seven Diyang Hinganekar (46; 7×4), who played his role to perfection.

However, in-form Assam pacer Mukhtar Hussain (5/88) trapped Hinganekar in front of the wicket as Maharashtra lost its sixth wicket for 296.

Nevertheless, there was more agony in store for Assam as Shah found an able ally in Satyajeet Bachhav, who hit a patient 52 in 108 balls, striking six boundaries and a maximum.

The Shah-Bachhav duo added vital 74-runs for the seventh wicket. Bachhav’s knock eventually helped the western team cross the 400-mark and ensure that it would be an uphill task for Assam batters. After Bachhav fell, Assam bowlers quickly rattled the tail.

In reply, Assam lost opener Rishav Das (14) cheaply, who became Mukesh Choudhary’s first victim. Even one-down batter Gokul Sharma (5) perished early as they were reeling at 32/2.

But opener Subham Mandal (34 not out) and the talented all-rounder Riyan Parag (26 not out) then steadied the ship with their 49-run unbroken stand for the third wicket and held fort till stumps were drawn. At stumps, Assam was poised at 81/2, still adrift by 334 runs.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 415 all out (Pawan Shah 219; Satyajeet Bachhav 52; Mukhtar Hussain 5/88, Arup Das 2/86) versus Assam 81/2 (Subham Mandal 34 not out, Riyan Parag 26 not out; Manoj Ingle 1/5). Assam trail by 334 runs.

At Sultanpur: Uttar Pradesh 301 all out (Akshdeep Nath 91, Rinku Singh 65; Dhruv Jurel 64; Aditya Sarwate 5/86, Aditya Thakare 2/43, Umesh Yadav 2/58) versus Vidarbha 256/2 (Faiz Fazal 142 not out, Sanjay Ramaswamy 96; Ankit Rajpoot 1/50, Saurabh Kumar 1/84). Vidarbha trail by 45 runs.