Struggling Assam take on Tripura in Ranji Trophy Group C match in Agartala

Rock-bottom on the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C roster with just two points after three matches, Assam will be hoping to turn things around when they face Tripura at Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in Agartala starting Saturday.

Hosts Tripura sit a rung above the visitors with three points from three games.Starting their campaign with a hard-fought draw against Gujarat away – where they got only a point after conceding the first innings lead – Assam’s fortunes plummeted in the next game against Services at Tinsukia. The return of first-class cricket to the industrial town after almost 25 years made headlines with some record-breaking feats during the game.While Services bowlers Arjun Sharma and Mohit Jangra etched their names in the history books with the first double hat-trick in the same innings, the 90-over game became the all-time shortest Ranji Trophy match. And Assam lost the low-scoring game by eight wickets. In their last match in Guwahati, Assam once again conceded the first innings lead to Railways in a drawn game to be content with a point.The Denish Das-led side will now be facing an upbeat host who has found better footing following their opening two-round losses against Services and Haryana. In the last game against Bengal at the same venue, Tripura rode centuries by professional Hanuma Vihari and captain Manishankar Murasingh to surpass Bengal’s first innings total for three points.

Meanwhile, Assam will take heart from the heavily one-sided head-to-head record in the last five first-class meetings between the two sides. While Assam drew their last game against Tripura in Feb 2020, they have won all four prior to that, and would like to repeat history for better their position on the standings.