Saurashtra need 211 with three wickets left as Tripura close in at Agartala

Tripura need three wickets on the final day at Agartala after reducing Saurashtra to 131 for 7 in a chase of 342

Saurashtra closed the third day of their Elite Group B match at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium on 131 for 7, still 211 runs short of the target Tripura set them.

Sandip Sarkar took 4-55 as the chase came apart either side of tea, and Saurashtra begin the last day with only Arpit Vasavada of their recognised batters still at the crease.

Nothing about the match has been straightforward. Saurashtra won the toss and bowled, were dismissed for 118 in reply to Tripura's 268, and then bowled Tripura out for 191 to keep themselves in it.

Parvez Sultan's five-for turns the match

Tripura batted first and made 268 in 92 overs, with the Saurashtra spinner Parth Bhut taking 5-65.

Saurashtra never settled in reply. Parvez Sultan returned 5-25 from 15 overs, two of them maidens, and the innings lasted only 45.5 overs.

The 118 all out handed Tripura a first-innings lead of 150 and the three points that come with it, and it remains the lowest completed innings of the match.

A second collapse leaves 342

The lead did not buy Tripura any comfort. They lost four wickets in the space of 15 deliveries on the second evening to slip to 54 for 4.

Their second innings closed on 191 in 64.4 overs on Wednesday, built on partnerships rather than an individual score of any size.

That left Saurashtra 342 to win, which would be the largest innings total of a match in which no side has yet passed 268.

Thirty-seven wickets have now fallen for 708 runs across 243.1 overs in Agartala, at barely three an over.

Sandip Sarkar breaks the chase open

Saurashtra started the chase well enough and were 49 for 1 inside 14 overs.

Hetvik Kotak, who had hit four fours and a six, then fell lbw to Sandip Sarkar for 31 from 57 balls, and the innings unravelled behind him.

The captain Harvik Desai was bowled by Abhijit Sarkar for 19, Sammar Gajjar and Chirag Jani both lost their stumps to Sandip Sarkar, and Jay Gohil was bowled by Sultan for 11.

Four wickets went down between the 17th over and the 23rd. When Prerak Mankad was stumped by Sentu Sarkar off Sandip Sarkar in the 26th, Saurashtra were 80 for 6, having lost five wickets for 31 runs.

Vasavada and Bhut steady it briefly

Vasavada and Bhut put on 43 for the seventh wicket, the only stand of substance in the innings.

Bhut made 26 from 56 balls with five fours before Manisankar Murasingh had him caught by Lakshay Thareja at 123 for 7 in the 39th over.

Vasavada was 27 not out from 37 balls at stumps, with the seamer Chetan Sakariya on 1 from 10 alongside him and the innings scoring at 3.20 an over.

Sandip Sarkar bowled 15 overs for his four wickets. Murasingh, Abhijit Sarkar and Sultan took one apiece, Sultan conceding 32 from 13 overs with three maidens. Tripura gave away two extras in the innings.

What the final day holds

Tripura need three wickets on Thursday, the last of the four scheduled days. Saurashtra need 211 runs, with Neel Pandya and Yuvrajsinh Dodiya still to bat.

Vasavada is the last specialist batter standing, and on a surface where no team has made more than 268 the arithmetic sits heavily against the chase.

A draw is the likelier route to anything other than defeat, and that asks Saurashtra to bat out a full day on a pitch that has produced a wicket every 6.6 overs.

Scorecard: Tripura 268 (Parth Bhut 5-65) and 191; Saurashtra 118 (Parvez Sultan 5-25) and 131 for 7 (Sandip Sarkar 4-55) — Saurashtra need 211 runs to win

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