Mahipal Lomror puts IPL franchises on alert with blazing triple ton ahead of mega auction

Dehradun, Nov 14 (PTI) Rajasthan's Mahipal Lomror put the IPL franchises on alert ahead of the mega auction with a sensational triple hundred comprising a staggering 13 sixes and 25 fours in their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Uttarakhand here on Thursday.
     The 24-year-old all-rounder, who has in the past represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals, reached his triple ton in just 357 balls while maintaining an excellent strike rate of 83.33 through his innings, something that will certainly encourage the IPL franchises gearing up for the November 24-25 auction in Jeddah.
     Resuming the day on 141, Lomror, who can also bowl left-arm spin, raced to his double century in just 253 balls while smashing 18 fours and eight sixes.
     Thanks to his big knock, Rajasthan posted an imposing first-innings total of 660 for seven declared before reducing Uttarakhand to 109 for two at stumps on the second day of the elite group game.
     The visitors declared their first innings immediately after Lomror got to his triple hundred.
     During the course of his monumental effort, Lomror shared a partnership of 177 runs for the fifth wicket with Kartik Sharma (113) who got out in the day's first over without adding anything to his overnight total.
     Then, Lomror was associated in a sixth-wicket stand of 116 runs with keeper Bharat Sharma, who contributed 54 in 75 balls. After Bharat's departure, Lomror found another able ally in Deepak Chahar, who chipped in with a brisk 38-ball 35.
     Uttarakhand's agony did not end there as Lomror then stitched another unbeaten partnership of 118 runs for the eighth wicket with Kukna Ajay Singh, who made 40 in 97 balls while helping his colleague get to the coveted landmark.
     The former RCB player has been in good form this domestic season as he struck a century in his team's previous match against Hyderabad.
     Arriving at the wicket at the fall of first wicket, Lomror was associated in multiple partnerships on the first two days of this game to help the team post a commanding total.
     Lomror has so far scored 527 runs in 40 IPL games, including 125 runs in the last edition for RCB, who released him ahead of the mega auction.
     Prior to this match, Lomror had seven centuries and 16 fifties in first-class cricket.
     Uttarakhand skipper Ravikumar Samarth and Swapnil Singh were batting on 50 and 17, respectively, when the stumps were drawn for the day as the home team trailed Rajasthan by 551 runs.
    
     Brief scores:
     In Dehradun: Rajasthan 1st innings 660/7 declared in 145.4 overs (Mahipal Lomror not out 300, Kartik Sharma 113, Bharat Sharma 54) vs Uttarakhand 1st innings 109/2 in 20.3 overs (Ravikumar Samarth batting 50).
    
     In Nagpur: Gujarat 1st innings 343 all out in 105.3 overs (Vishal Jayswal 112, Priyank Panchal 88, Chintan Gaja 86; Praful Hinge 3/74, Aditya Thakare 3/63, Nachiket Bhute 3/66) vs Vidarbha 1st innings 202/2 in 65 overs (Karun Nair batting 81, Danish Malewar batting 76).
    
     In Dharamsala: Puducherry 85 and 59/1 in 11 overs vs Himachal Pradesh 1st innings 436/9 declared in 112 overs (Ankit Kalsi 105, Rishi Dhawan 70, Shubham Arora 58; Gaurav Yadav 5/133).
    
     In Hyderabad: Hyderabad 1st innings 301 all out in 105.4 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 159; Tripurana Vijay 5/118) vs Andhra 1st innings 168/2 in 58 overs (Shaik Rasheed batting 79, Karan Shinde batting 41).

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)