Kumar Kushagra’s elegant unbeaten 112, coupled with Virat Singh’s 107, steered Jharkhand to an imposing 402 for 5 on the first day of their Ranji Trophy pre-quarter final against Nagaland at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
The winners will meet Bengal in the quarter finals.
Nagaland captain Rongsen Jonathan won the toss and put Jharkhand into bat. Openers Utkarsh Singh (36) and Md Nazim (28) were unable to convert their starts into big scores.
While Utkarsh became right-arm medium pacer Srikant Munde’s first and only victim, Nazim was dismissed by Chopise Hopongkyu.
However, Jharkhand No.3 Kumar Suraj (66) and skipper Saurabh Tiwary (29) revived the innings with their 62-run-stand for the third wicket.
Brief scores: Jharkhand: 402/5 (Kumar Kushagra 112 not out, Virat Singh 107) vs Nagaland. At Stumps, Day I