GUWAHATI, Dec 3 � Underdogs Jammu and Kashmir made a tremendous comeback in their fourth match of the Group C Ranji Trophy match against Assam.
After a series of dismal show in the previous three matches, from which they collected just one pont, J&K took a toll on table leader Assam and put the hosts into the backfoot on the third day of the four-day match at the Nehru Stadium here today.
Taking a first innings lead of 158runs, J&K extended the total to 476. Now Assam, requiring 477 in the second innings for victory, are tottering at 46 for three.
Skipper Dheeraj Jadhav and Gokul Sharma were at the crease with 16 and 0 respectively. Assam lost opener Pallav Das in the very first ball of the innings and number three batsman Kunal Saikia for nought leaving the scoreboard 0 for two.
Dheeraj and Sib Sankar Roy tried to repare the damage but finally Sib Sankar lost his patience minutes before the close of day�s play and offered an easy catch to Hardeep Singh off Ian Dev Singh.
Earlier, J&K declared their second innings at 318 for five. Opener Ian Dev Singh (118 off 156 balls) and number 4 batsman Parvez Rasool Zargar (120 off 106 balls) cracked centuries making merry of Assam bowling. Openers Ian Dev and Adil Reshi (51) added 77 runs to lay a solid foundation while the third wicket partnership between Ian Dev and Parvez Rasool yeilded a most damaging 195-ball 198 runs.
Spinners Arlen Konwar and Syed Mohammad picked up two wickets each while Abu Nechim Ahmed took one for Assam.
When Assam bowlers hardly could do justice of themselves at their home ground, the visitors bowled with venom and ripped through the batting line-up.
SCORECARD
J&K 1st innings: 323
Assam 1st innings: 165
Jammu & Kashmir 2nd innings: Adil Rishi lbw b Syed Mohammad 51, ID Singh c sub (AS Sinha) b Konwar 118, Bandeep Singh c Saikia b Ahmed 19, Parvez Rassol not out 120, Hardeep Singh st Saikia b Konwar 4, M Gupta c Saikia b Syed Mohammad 0, O Haroon not out 3. Extras: (lb 1, w 2) 3. Total: (5 wickets dec; 66 overs) 318. Fall of wickets: 1-77, 2-108, 3-306, 4-310, 5-311. Bowling: A Konwar 17-1-93-2, AN Ahmed 14-3-65-1, AK Das 9-1-37-0, PL Das 5-1-20-0, J Syed Mohammad 17-0-72-2, G Sharma 4-0-30-0.
Assam 2nd innings: PP Das c Adil Rishi b Dayal 0, DS Jadhav not out 16, KN Saikia lbw b Dayal 0, SA Roy c Hardeep Singh b Singh 29, G Sharma not out 0. Extras: (nb 1) 1. Total: (3 wickets; 25 overs) 46. Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-46. Bowling: R Dayal 6-2-12-2, M Mudhasir 4-3-6-0, SS Sharma 2-1-2-0, Parvez Rassol 6-2-15-0, Bandeep Singh 2-0-6-0, M Gupta 3-1-4-0, ID Singh 2-1-1-1.