Jaipur: Rajasthan’s last-ditch effort to qualify for the knockouts was dented by an inspired Himachal Pradesh on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match at the Anantam Ground here on Friday.Replying to Himachal’s 406, the hosts were reeling at 115 for the loss of 6 wickets with follow-on looming.The top-order batters were expected to rise to the occasion on a flat track but instead they came a cropper.Barring opener Salman Khan (32: 59b, 6×4) and this seaon’s find Mukul Choudhary (24: 48b, 2×6) rest of the batters disappointed. The home team’s problems became worse when the debutant opener Shiva Chauhan broke his thumb and had to be retired hurt on 15 and captain Mahipal Lomror getting run out for just 4.At stumps on Day 2, Manav Suthar (8) and Ajay Kookna (4) were batting at the crease.Rajasthan still trail by 291 runs. The home team must be hoping that their tail wags on Saturday morning and avoid at least follow-on.Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 314 for 4, Himachal added 92 runs to be all out for 406, an hour after lunch break.At one stage it looked like they would score 450 plus as they were strongly-placed at 393 for 6. However, they lost their last 4 wickets for the addition of just 13 runs.Nikhil Gangta, who was unbeaten on 66, went on to make 84 (186b, 8×4) before he became Aniket Choudhary’s second wicket. In the earlier over, the veteran fast bowler had Aryaman Dhaliwal caught behind the wicket.Experienced left-arm paceman Khaleel Ahmed and left-arm spinner Manav Suthar returned with three wickets each.Brief ScoresHimachal Pradesh 406 in 122.1 overs (Pukhraj Mann 118, Nikhil Gangta 84, Ankush Bains 72, Innesh Mahajan 40; Khaleel Ahmed 3-68, Manav Suthar 3-76, Aniket Choudhary 2-79) vs Rajasthan 115/6 in 40 overs (Salman Khan 32, Mukul Choudhary 24, Deepak Hooda 15, Shiva Chauhan 15; Mukul Negi 3-16, Aryaman Dhaliwal 2-35).
