Ranji Trophy 2026-27 Round 3, Day 2: Kuldip Yadav Takes 4/62, Sarfaraz Khan Falls for 40, Kartik and Urvil Yet to Bat

Hello Yellow Army!

Day 2 of Round 3 of the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 is done, and it was a day of big totals and a lot of waiting around for a few of our batters. If you missed it, here is our Round 3, Day 1 report.

The big positive is Kuldip Yadav, whose hard work finally got him some wickets after a long day of toil yesterday. Sarfaraz Khan could not convert his good start, Gurjapneet Singh's match was taken over by the spinners, and Kartik Sharma, Urvil Patel and Aman Khan are all still waiting for a go with the bat. So let's see how they did, one by one.

At a glance

Kuldip Yadav: the toil finally pays off

All that hard work and those patient spells finally paid off for CSK's Kuldip Yadav. At one point, Ajay Duhan and Kishan Lyngdoh had put together a 413-run partnership and Meghalaya looked in complete control, but the moment Lyngdoh was run out at 490/3, Kuldip helped Mizoram strike back with quick wickets. That included the important wicket of Duhan, who made 239, and Kuldip kept striking so that none of the lower order could contribute much, though Meghalaya still ended up with a mammoth 562.

He finished with 4 wickets for 62 runs in 22.2 overs, which means 3 wickets for 12 runs in 7.2 overs on day 2, after his 1/50 in 15 overs on day 1.

Mizoram then batted and ended day 2 on 99/2 in 37 overs, still trailing by 463 runs. Kuldip is yet to bat, so after all that bowling, he may have to put his pads on and help save this one.

Sarfaraz Khan: falls for 40

Sarfaraz could not add much to his overnight 21 and was out for 40. In the first over after the drinks break, Nishant Sindhu trapped him lbw. Mumbai were then bowled out for 430, after being 290/3 at the end of day 1, and Haryana ended day 2 on 108/2 in 39 overs, still trailing by 322 runs. After his 154 and Player of the Match award in Round 2, it was a decent knock but not the big one I was hoping for.

Gurjapneet Singh: the spinners take over

The pitch in Chennai helped the pacers on day 1 under overcast skies, but by late evening it had turned dry and spin-friendly, and Tamil Nadu paid for it on day 2. Railways' spin trio of Raj Choudhary (5 wickets), Toufik Uddin Mondal (4) and Himanshu Sangwan (1) took all ten wickets, and Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 165, 19 behind. Gurjapneet was the last man and stayed unbeaten on 0.

With the ball he gave Tamil Nadu a quick breakthrough, taking 1/15 in 4 overs in his first spell, but he did not bowl again as the spinners collectively comes into attack. Captain Sai Kishore, Hemchudeshan and Ajith Ram kept attacking, and Railways ended the day on 107/9, leading by 126 runs.

Shreyas Gopal: a few useful runs

After his tight 1/34 on day 1, the captain contributed with the bat this time, adding 19 runs before being bowled by Parvez Sultan, as Karnataka built on their position. They ended day 2 on 297/7 in 95 overs, leading Tripura (194 all out) by 103 runs. Not a big score, but I did say yesterday that I hope he gets going with the bat, so that is a start.

Kartik Sharma: yet to bat

Kartik did not get to bat today. Uttarakhand were bowled out for 194, 78 behind Rajasthan's 272, and Rajasthan ended day 2 on 39/1 in 23 overs, leading by 117 runs. So tomorrow he will get his chance, and after his 73 on day 1, I hope he converts it into a big one this time and provide more leads to the team and help win the match. More in his tracker entry.

Urvil Patel: waiting for his turn again

Same story as Kartik, Urvil did not get to bat today. After his 13 on day 1, Gujarat were in the field the whole day, and Maharashtra took a lead, finishing day 2 on 278/9 in 100 overs against Gujarat's 223, leading by 55 runs. Gujarat will have to bat again, so he might get a chance tomorrow, and I hope he makes it count after back-to-back poor innings.

Aman Khan: back with the ball

Aman is yet to bat, because Puducherry spent day 2 in the field. He tried his hand at bowling again, giving away 6 runs in 1 over, which is better than his 10 in 1 over in Round 2. Uttar Pradesh were reeling at 86/5 at one stage, but Karan Sharma stood tall with an unbeaten 162 and took them to a good first innings total. Aman might get his batting chance tomorrow, and I hope the weather stays kind this time in Puducherry.

Prashant Veer: a CK Nayudu Trophy bonus

Not in a Ranji match, but worth a mention. Prashant plays for Uttar Pradesh Under-23s in the Col C K Nayudu Trophy (Elite), and he made 18 and then bowled 8 wicketless overs for 17 runs against Hyderabad on day 1. Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for a low 168, but his tight spell helped keep Hyderabad at 82/2, trailing by 86. It comes after his 7/23 and 51 in the innings win against Andhra, so let's see what he does on day 2.

Who is out

• Ayush Mhatre is out with a Grade 4 hamstring tear, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi is playing as his replacement for Mumbai.
• Ruturaj Gaikwad is not playing for Maharashtra this round, most probably because of the ODI series in New Zealand, as he has been named in both ODI squads.
• Mukesh Choudhary and Anshul Kamboj were with India A in New Zealand, where the 1st unofficial Test ended in a draw, with Kamboj taking 4 wickets in the match and Mukesh 2.
• Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube are with the Indian T20I squad for the New Zealand tour, where India won the 3rd T20I by 6 wickets and Sanju made 18 off 13.

I will keep adding every update on the Super Kings Player Tracker, so keep an eye on it, and I will be back with the day 3 article tomorrow.

Stay healthy stay yellow.