Ranji Trophy 2014: Rakesh Dhruv picks four as Punjab bundled out for 195

Fast bowler Shrikant Wagh (2/49) drew the first blood when he trapped Punjab opener Manan Vohra (2) in the third
over of the day.

Fellow pacer Swapnil Bandiwar removed the other opener and very talented Jiwanjot Singh (26) after Punjab lost
Amitoze Singh (11) and Mandeep Singh (1) cheaply.

However, Gurkeerat Singh saved the visitors from humiliation with a resolute 75-run knock that came off 134 balls with the help of nine shots to the fence.

Gurkeerat raised a 79-run stand with Taruwar Kohli (25) and it was broken when the latter was trapped by left-arm
spinner Ravi Jangid.

Gurkeerat was caught behind off Swapnil Bandiwar (2/24) and it did not take much for Punjab innings to fold after his fall.

Dhruv’s first wicket was middle order batsman Mandeep Singh and added three more to his tally by polishing off the
Punjab tail.

Vidarbha openers then saw off the two overs from Punjab bowlers as the hosts ended the day at three for no loss. Faiz Fazal (1) and Sanjay Ramaswamy (2) were at the crease.

Kalaria five-for push Odhisa on the back-foot

Gujarat pace spearhead Rush Kalaria bagged five wickets to put Odisha on the backfoot on the opening day of the Group B Ranji Trophy match.

Electing to field at DRIEMS Ground, Tangi in the four-day encounter, Kalaria got to business right away to pick opener Anurag Sarangi for nought and kept hurting the Odisha batting line-up regularly as the hosts ended Sunday on 219 for eight.

Opener Natraj Behera (75) remained the top-scorer of the day, only to be run out post a quick reaction from Kushang
Patel.

Medium-pacer Kushang and left-arm spinner Axar Patel also picked up a wicket each.

Brief Scores: Odisha 219/8 in 90 overs (Natraj Behera 75, Govinda Podder 37; Rush Kalaria 5-54).

Rain plays spoilsport in Haryana vs Maha

Rain played spoilsport on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match between Haryana and Maharashtra and the home team was precariously poised at 41 for two in their first innings.

Left-arm pacer Samad Fallah grabbed both the wickets which fell in the 17.5 overs of play that was possible.

Avi Barot (20) and Sachin Rana (0) were holding fort for the home side at close. For the visitors, Fallah picked up 2/20 in his nine overs.

Brief Scores: Haryana 1st Innings: 41/2 in 17.5 overs (Avi Barot 20 batting, Samad Fallah 2/20).

Rajasthan bat for only 4 overs on weather-hit opening day

Inclement weather played spoilsport on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match between Rajasthan and Saurashtra as only four overs could be bowled.

Saurashtra won the toss and elected to field. Siddharth Saraf (3) and Vineet Saxena (1) remained unbeaten as Rajasthan were five for no loss.