Juneja scores double ton on debut but TN earn 3 points

Ahmedabad: Gujarat`s Manprit Juneja made his debut memorable with an unbeaten double century but Tamil Nadu still emerged with three points by virtue of their first- innings lead on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy match on Friday.

Thanks to Juneja`s monumental knock of 201 not out, Gujarat made a strong 539 all out after Tamil Nadu had piled up a mammoth 698 for eight declared at the at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera. In their second essay, Tamil Nadu made 100 without losing a wicket. The 22-year-old right-hander`s knock was laced with 26 boundaries and three sixes. He faced 324 deliveries and spent 427 minutes during his mammoth effort. Resuming at their overnight score of 293 for four with Juneja on 84 and and Pratheresh Parmar on 45, Gujarat rode on the duo`s 189-run partnership for the fifth wicket to frustrate the visitors. After Parmar was removed by Jannagathan Kaushik for 65, Juneja added 113 runs for the sixth wicket with Jesal Karia, the partnership coming in just 22.1 overs. By the time Yo Mahesh had Karia caught behind by Dinesh Karthik, ther batsman had already scored 72 off 74 balls. Karia hit 12 fours and two sixes during his 88-minute stay at the crease. Kaushik, R Aushik Srinivas and Sunny Gupta finished with three wickets each for Tamil Nadu. When they came out to bat the second time, Murali Vijay and first-inning double centurion Abhinav Mukund were unbeaten on 57 and 42 respectively. Brief scores:Tamil Nadu: 698 for eight declared and 100 for no loss in 14 years. Gujarat 1st innings: 539 all out (Juneja 201 not out, Priyank Panchal 80, Jesal Karia). PTI