The veteran all-rounder from Kerala, Jalaj Saxena, has made it to the history books of the Ranji Trophy as he is the first player to score 6000 runs and claim 400 wickets in the competition which started in 1934. Saxena achieved this remarkable feat during the Elite Group C fourth-round match against Uttar Pradesh at St Xavier’s College Ground.
Milestone Achieved With Key Dismissal
Saxena, 37 years old, had earlier crossed the 6000-run mark in the preceding match of Kerala at Kolkata. His 400th victim was Uttar Pradesh’s Nitish Rana, who stumped off a sharp off-spinner. Saxena is the 13th bowler who has achieved the 400-wicket mark in the Ranji Trophy, while his 400th wicket was also his 29th five-wicket haul in the tournament.
Storied Career With Kerala And Madhya Pradesh
He played his First-Class cricket with Madhya Pradesh in 2005, taking 159 wickets and scoring 4041 runs in the span of 11 years. In the 2016-17 season, Saxena signed up with Kerala, during which he emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker for the state, only after KN Ananthapadmanabhan.
Jalaj Saxena Enters The Elite Club In Indian Domestic Cricket
Saxena is now the fourth Indian domestic cricketer to score and contribute more than 9000 runs with 600 wickets across formats. Vinoo Mankad, Madan Lal, and Parvez Rasool are some of the players with whom Saxena has entered history books.
Anustup Majumdar’s Century Helps Bengal Edge Ahead Against Karnataka
Veteran Bengal captain Anustup Majumdar spearheaded his side’s fightback with a dogged century after early shocks in an enthralling Ranji Trophy contest.
Bengal regained the upper hand in the Group C Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka at 21/2 on Day 1 by reversing early shocks when Shuvam Dey and Sudip Gharami were dismissed for meager scores.
Majumdar, Bengal captain shared an important partnership with Chatterjee.
Steadied by a 40-year-old, the ship came in at No. 4. Sudip Chatterjee gave a solid 50 off 120 balls, and their third-wicket partnership aggregated 100 runs. Herein were excellent control and resilience on display.
Majumdar’s Century Leads Bengal To Recovery
Majumdar scored his century off 157 balls in the innings and smashed 16 boundaries during this while his innings was a repetition of the one against Karnataka in the 2019-20 semifinals. This one went in vain, as on reaching the three-figure mark he was caught lbw to Shreyas Gopal.
Koushik’s Excellent Bowling
Though Majumdar was brilliant, Karnataka’s Vasuki Koushik kept the pressure up with three wickets for 29 runs. By the end of the day, Bengal was at 249/5, and support for Majumdar was in the good hands of Shahbaz Ahmed.
Also Read: Pakistan’s Short-Pitch Shock At MCG: Can They Repeat The Magic At Adelaide Oval?
