Konwar`s six-wicket haul restricts Jharkhand to 174

Jamshedpur: Arlen Konwar shone with the ball with a six-wicket haul as Assam bundled out Jharkhand for 174 after scoring 179 in their first innings on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match, here on Saturday.

Spinner Konwar emerged as the wrecker-in-chief, polishing off the middle and lower order with his off-break while pacers Abu Nechim Ahmed and Syed Mohammad also scalped two wickets apiece to restrict the hosts in 76.1 overs at Keenan Stadium. Opener Rameez Nemat top scored for Jharkhand with a patient 99-ball 53, which was studded with five fours. Other notable scorers for the hosts were Sourabh Tiwary (33), Ishank Jaggi (23) and Deepak Chougule (22). Jharkhand batsmen got starts but they failed to capitalise on it and lost wickets at regular intervals. Jharkhand lost opener Manish Vardhan (11) in the 15th over when he was caught by wicketkeeper Rajdeep Das off Ahmed. Konwar struck in the 29th over when he had Jaggi adjudged leg before. Syed Mohammad then picked up Nemat, while Tiwary became Konwar`s second victim. Ahmed then got rid off Chougule as the hosts were looking down the barrel at 146 for five in 64.2 overs. Konwar then went on to claim wicketkeeper Shiv Gautam (6) and Sunny Gupta (11) and Jaskaran Singh (0) to complete his five wicket haul, while Syed Mohammad picked up skipper Shahbaz Nadeem (14). Konwar wrapped up the Jharkhand innings when he had Shankar Rao (0) caught by Ahmed. In reply, Assam batted for 12 overs and scored 27 runs for the loss of openers Pallavkumar Ds (20) and skipper Dheeraj Jadhav (7). When stumps were drawn, Amit Sinha (0) was at the crease. Brief Scores: Assam: 179 & 27/2 in 11.5 overs (Pallavkumar Das 20; Shahbaz Nadeem 1/4). Jharkhand Ist innings: 174 all out in 76.1 overs (Rameez Nemat 53, sourabh Tiwary 33, Arlen Konwar 6/67). PTI