Ranji Trophy wrap: Baroda fold for 97, shoot Bengal down for 76

Group A

Gujarat vs Mumbai, Hubli

Gujarat took a cautious approach against the defending champions Mumbai in Hubli on the first day of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 clash to post 246 for 3 at stumps. Skipper Parthiv Patel opted to bat first on Monday (November 21) and his openers backed the decision with a huge partnership. Samit Gohil and Priyank Panchal scored 172 for the first wicket before Vishal Dabholkar breached Gohil's defence to dismiss him for 87.

Dabholkar struck again two balls later when he had Bhargav Merai trapped in front for a duck. Aditya Dhumal then managed to get rid of Parthiv for 12 but Panchal was solid at the other end and went on to reach his century. He remained unbeaten on 122 at stumps.

Brief scores: Gujarat 246/3 (P Panchal 122*, Samit Gohil 87; Vishal Dabholkar 2-61) vs Mumbai.

Bengal vs Baroda, Lahli

In an incredible day in Lahli, Baroda finished proceedings with a lead of 84 after initially getting bowled out for 97. Bengal opted to field as expected after winning the toss and immediately reduced Baroda to 48 for 6, from which they never recovered. Ashoke Dinda went on to pick up six wickets for Bengal.

Atit Sheth then rattled Bengal to pick up seven wickets to bowl out Bengal for 76. Only two batsmen managed to touch double figures. Baroda put up a better performance with the bat in their second innings with opener Kedar Devdhar scoring an unbeaten 34. Baroda did lose three wickets though to finish with 63 for 3.

Brief scores: Baroda 97 (Ashoke Dinda 6-45) & 63/3 (Kedar Devdhar 34*; Mukesh Kumar 2-22) lead Baroda 76 (Atit Sheth 7-36) by 84 runs.

Tamil Nadu vs Punjab, Nagpur

Punjab failed to capitalise on the fine start provided by their openers on the opening day against Tamil Nadu in Nagpur to end up with 241 for 6. Manan Vohra and Jiwanjot Singh added 97 for the first wicket before TN struck thrice in quick succession before Lunch. While Jiwanjot was dismissed for a patient 30, Manan made 73 off 111 balls.

Stand-in captain Gurkeerat Singh failed to make an impact in the absence of Yuvraj Singh, who skipped this clash. Uday Kaul put in the hard yards to score a fighting half-century but was run out by K Vignesh before stumps. Vignesh also starred with the ball to pick up three wickets.

Brief scores: Punjab 241/6 (Manan Vohra 73, Uday Kaul 56; K Vignesh 3-89) vs Tamil Nadu.

Madhya Pradesh vs Railways, New Delhi

An unbeaten century from Nitin Bhille and half-centuries from Saurabh Wakaskar and Arindam Ghosh guided Railways to 249 for 2 against Madhya Pradesh at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. Railways were in control of the entire day as their openers began proceedings with a fifty-run stand before Shivakant Shukla was bowled by Saransh Jain for 17.

Wakaskar then added 67 for the second wicket with Nitin before left-arm spinner trapped him leg-before-wicket for 62. Arindam then joined forces with Nitin as the duo put on an unbeaten 132 runs before stumps. While Nitin was batting on 102, Arindam finished unbeaten on 61.

Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 249/2 (Nitin Bhille 102*, Saurabh 62; Saransh Jain 1-40) vs Railways.

Group B

Vidarbha v Saurashtra, Delhi

Sheldon Jackson's vital knock (116) and Chirag Jani's effort helped Saurashtra offset the bowling exploits of Vidarbha's medium-pacer Rajneesh Gurbani (4 for 85) on a see-saw Day 1 at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi, as the runners-up of last season were bowled out for 301.

Vidarbha made early inroads after asking Saurashtra to bat in Jaydev Shah's 100th first-class fixture as captain. Gurbani was all over the opposition's top-order, leaving them on a shaky ground at 101 for 4. Jackson and Prerak Mankad's partnership worth 66 runs steadied the ship to an extent. Another 70-run partnership followed, involving Jackson and Jani, which steered the team total past 200.

That however, wasn't enough as Jackson's departure in the final session set about another mini-collapse. Jani was left watching from the other end as Akshay Wakhare sent Jaydev Unadkat and Deepak Punia packing in quick succession. Vandit Jivrajani blocked 21 balls without scoring a run in a 53-run ninth-wicket partnership with Jani to frustrate the opposition, before Lalit Yadav trapped Jani leg before.

Kushang Patel and Jivrajani added 10 runs to the total, just about taking the team past the 300-run mark before the fall of the final wicket.

At stumps, Vidarbha reached 4 for no wicket.

Brief Scores: Saurashtra 301 (Sheldon Jackson 116, Chirag Jani 78; Rajneesh Gurbani 4-85) lead Vidarbha 4/0 by 297 runs

Delhi v Rajasthan, Wayanad

Amitkumar Gautam (106) batted commendably against Delhi's pace battery in trying conditions at the Krishnagiri stadium in Wayanad to stand out in an otherwise lacklustre batting show from Rajasthan.

Asked to bat by Gautam Gambhir, Rajasthan were duly tested by Delhi's four-pronged pace attack on a freshly-laid track, with soil imported from Mysore, that sported a generous coating of green. The 21-year-old Gautam, playing in just his third first-class fixture, showed the best application and patience amongst an inexperienced top-six.

Not finding able allies at the other end, however, was detrimental to his team's forward push. For a brief period on either side of the Lunch break, Gautam and 17-year-old Salman Khan managed to forge a partnership, during which the scoring rate was turned up a notch. Salman eventually fell for a stroke-filled 31 off 47 balls. By the Tea break, Gautam had reached his century and put together another solid stand for the seventh wicket, with Deepak Chahar.

In the second over of the final session, Gautam was dismissed caught behind for 106 and walked back to a round of applause from fans on the terrace above the pavilion. Chahar chanced his arms and played an entertaining knock of 47 from just 63 balls to extend Rajasthan's total. Navdeep Saini (3 for 28) and Vikas Tokas (3 for 48) were the pick of the bowlers, helping Delhi restrict Rajasthan to 238. In reply, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan played out the 11 overs to take Delhi to 37 for no wicket at stumps.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan 238 (Amitkumar Gautam 106, Deepak Chahar 47; Navdeep Saini, Navdeep Saini 3-28, Vikas Tokas 3-48) lead Delhi 37/0 by 201 runs

Odisha v Karnataka, Delhi

Odisha bowlers gave their fifth-placed side a fine start to the crucial fixture against an already-qualified Karnataka, as the latter endured a batting implosion and folded for 179 at the Palam A stadium in Delhi.

Asked to bat first, Karnataka lost opener Mayank Agarwal cheaply to a run out, before R Samarth and Robin Uthappa built a stand. That didn't last long, however, as the pair fell in the space of three deliveries. Basant Mohanty bowled a stingy spell to dry up Karnataka's runs and also accounted for two wickets - of Stuart Binny and Mir Kaunan Abbas - to leave Karnataka languishing at 82 for 5. Biplab Samantray added to the misery by dismissing Shreyas Gopal for 4. First sign of resistance came in the form of a stand between Vinay Kumar and CM Gautam, but that too was a brief one. Gautam reached his half-century but Karnataka were soon skittled out.

Odisha had a stuttered start with the bat as they lost Sandeep Pattnaik and Ranjit Singh cheaply and finished the day on 42 for 2.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 179 (CM Gautam 54; Basant Mohanty 3-46) lead Odisha 42/2 by 137 runs

Maharashtra v Assam, Chennai

A 183-run partnership between Kedar Jadhav (115) and Naushad Sheikh (97) for the third wicket after Swapnil Gugale's half-century powered Maharashtra against Assam at the Indian Institute of Technology Chemplast Ground in Chennai.

Opting to bat first, Maharashtra were quick to get off the blocks and maintain a brisk scoring rate. Gugale set the tone for his team's essay with an 81-ball 50 that included eight fours. Jadhav took over the baton of tormenting the bowlers as he hit 15 fours and three sixes in his 106-ball stay while Sheikh played the perfect foil at the other end, getting his runs in 163 balls at a strike rate of just under 60.

Left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad picked up two swift wickets, including that of Jadhav, to give Assam some respite from all the run-scoring. Vishant More and Chirag Khurana batted out the rest of the day to take the team to 352 for 5 at stumps.

Brief Scores: Maharashtra 352/5(Kedar Jadhav 115, Naushad Sheikh 97; Syed Mohammad 2-63) v Assam

Group C

Andhra vs Kerala, Guwahati

Led by pacer P Vijay Kumar's 6 for 37, Kerala were reduced to 188 for 8 against Andhra at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Hanuma Vihari won the toss and elected to field. It turned out to be a good decision as the new-ball duo of Vijay Kumar and Ayyappa Bandaru ran through Kerala's top order, dismissing Bhavin Thakkar, Vishnu Vinod, Sachin Baby and Sanju Samson in the first session, to leave them reeling at 36 for 4.

Skipper Rohan Prem resurrected Kerala's innings in company of wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Azharuddeen with a 71-run stand for the fifth wicket, before the former was caught behind off Vijay Kumar.

Iqbal Abdulla played a brief cameo and added 48 runs with Azharudden, but fell soon after Tea, bowled by Vijay Kumar. Azharuddeen continued Kerala's charge even as wickets kept falling from the other end. He hit 12 boundaries in his 201-ball stay at the crease, which yielded 82 runs, before being dismissed by Vijay Kumar at the stroke of Stumps.

Brief Scores: Kerala 188/8 (Mohammed Azharuddeen 82, Rohan Prem 42; P Vijay Kumar 6-37) vs Andhra

Himachal Pradesh vs Services, Surat

Nakul Verma and Ravi Chauhan slammed centuries as Services plundered 276 for 4 against Himachal Pradesh at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat.

Aanshul Gupta won the toss and elected to bat. Opening the innings with Verma, he fell early, trapped for 8 by medium pacer Pankaj Jaiswal.

However, that remained the only success for Himachal for over five hours as Verma and Chauhan put on an stand of 264 runs. However, three late wickets pegged them back at stumps.

Brief Scores: Services 276/4 (Ravi Chauhan 149, Nakul Verma 113*; Pankaj Jaiswal 2-55, Rishi Dhawan 2-60) vs Himachal

Chhattisgarh vs Hyderabad, Valsad

Skipper S Badrinath's 134 helped Hyderabad take control on the opening day clash against Chhattisgarh in Valsad ending the day on 267 for 4.

Put into bat by Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad were dented early as they lost Akshath Reddy in the second over of the day. However, an out-of-form Badrinath combined with Tanmay Agarwal to help Hyderabad steady their innings. Together they batted for 41.2 overs, adding 120 runs, before the latter was dismissed by Abhuday Kant Singh.

Badrinath, nonetheless, held the innings together and added another century stand with B Sandeep. The Hyderabad skipper slammed 20 boundaries and two sixes.

However, Abhimanyu Chahaun struck twice late in the day to dismiss Badrinath and Benjamin.

Brief Scores: Hyderabad 267/4 (S Badrinath 134, B Sandeep 73*; Abhimanyu Chauhan 2-22) vs Chhattisgarh.

Jammu & Kashmir vs Tripura, Mumbai

Half centuries by Pranav Gupta, Ian Chauhan and Aditya Pratap helped Jammu & Kashmir reach 270 for 6 against Tripura at the Bandra Kurla Complex Ground in Mumbai.

Tripura won the toss and elected to field. There was pace and bounce on offer in the opening hour of the match. The pacers took good advantage of the conditions and sent the openers Shubham Khajuria and Umar Nissar back to the pavilion early.

Gupta and Chauhan resurrected the innings, stroking their respective half centuries and putting on 109 runs for the third wicket. However, both fell in quick succession, in addition to the wicket of Parvez Rasool, as they were left reeling at 131 for 5 from 123 for 2.

Nonetheless, Pratap combined with wicketkeeper-batsman Punit Bisht and all-rounder Samiullah Beigh to revive their innings with partnerships of 50 and and unbeaten 89 to keep the match in balance.

Brief Scores: Jammu & Kashmir (Aditya Pratap 65*, Ian Chauhan 59; MB Mura Singh 2-59, Rana Datta 2-61) vs Tripura.

Haryana vs Goa, Ghaziabad

Snehal Kauthankar's unbeaten 80 stood tall in Goa's disappointing show with the bat against Haryana at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad.

Goa were struggling early after losing opener Swapnil Asnodkar and skipper Sagun Kamat with only 14 runs on the board.

Sumiran Amonkar and Dasrhan Misal saw through the first session of play, but fell in quick succession soon after Lunch. Reagan Pinto and Kauthankar were looking good in the middle, before the former had to retire hurt. His return to the dressing room helped break Goa's momentum as Haryana bagged two more wickets in quick succession to leave them reeling at 197 for 6 at Stumps.

Brief Scores: Goa 197/6 (Snehal Kauthankar 80*, Sumiran Amonkar 34; Harshal Patel 3-52, Amit Mishra 2-61) vs Haryana