Y.B. Sarangi
KOLKATA
Virat Singh and Kumar Kushagra’s excellent centuries took Jharkhand to a comfortable position against Nagaland on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
Inserted in, Jharkhand exploited the Nagaland bowlers’ lack of discipline to cruise to a formidable 402 for five and looked forward to posting a massive aggregate to gain more ground.
The left-right combination of Virat (107, 155b, 13×4) and 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Kushagra (112 batting, 111b, 16×4, 1×6) built a substantial partnership of 175 for the fifth wicket to give Jharkhand a firm control over the match.
Virat scored his fifth hundred, while Kushagra got his maiden three-figure score.
The scores:
Jharkhand 402/5 in 87 overs (Kumar Kushagra 112 batting, Virat Singh 107, Kumar Suraj 66, Utkarsh Singh 36) vs Nagaland.