Merai century takes Gujarat to 314/4 against Haryana

Bhargav Merai struck a fine century to take Gujarat to a respectable 314 for four in reply to Haryana`s massive 573 for six declared in the first innings as the Ranji Trophy Group A match between the two teams headed for a draw on the third day on Monday.

Ahmedabad: Bhargav Merai struck a fine century to take Gujarat to a respectable 314 for four in reply to Haryana`s massive 573 for six declared in the first innings as the Ranji Trophy Group A match between the two teams headed for a draw on the third day here on Monday.

Merai was batting on 115 off 216 deliveries, hitting 15 fours and two sixes in the process, at the draw of stumps at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera. Gujarat, who resumed the day on 27 for one, were struggling at 96 for three at one stage before Merai played the rescue act with a solid batting performance. Y Venugopal Rao was giving Merai company on 64 and the duo has so far put on 147 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket stand. The home side trail by 259 runs with six first innings wickets remaining. With just one day left, the match is set to end in a draw but it will be interesting to see tomorrow whether Gujarat can go past the massive 573 scored by Haryana or not. Both sides would look to take the first innings lead to get more points from the match now that it`s improbable to get an outright result. For Haryana, leg-spinner Amit Mishra grabbed two wickets while Ashish Hooda took one. Brief Scores: Haryana: 573 for 6 decl Gujarat: 314 for 4 from 97 overs (Bhargav Merai 115 batting; Amit Mishra 2/88).