Ranji wrap: Shardul, Sandhu give Mumbai early control; Saha, Sudeep lead Bengal's revival

Pacers Thakur, Sandhu dismiss Punjab for paltry total

Mumbai: Hosts Mumbai took early control of their Group B Ranji Trophy fixture against Punjab by bundling out the visitors for a meagre 154 in 57 overs on day one of the four-day game at the Wankhede Stadium here today.

Medium pacers Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Singh Sandhu continued the good form they showed in the season opener for Mumbai against Andhra at Vizianagaram by sharing eight wickets between them as Punjab batsmen showed poor application on a track that assisted seam bowling.

The most experienced bowler in the 40-time champions’ line-up, Dhawal Kulkarni, picked up a late wicket while one batsman were run out after Punjab were asked to take first strike by Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare on winning the toss.

In reply, Mumbai lost their openers Shrideep Mungela and Akhil Herwadkar cheaply.

But one-down Shreyas Iyer played an attacking, unbeaten knock of 61 off 43 balls with 10 fours and a six to take charge in the company of Suryakumar Yadav (16) and help the hosts finish at a healthy 103 for 2 in 18 overs.

Punjab started in an encouraging fashion when openers Manan Vohra (34) and Jinvanjot Singh (11) kept the Mumbai bowlers at bay for 16 overs, adding 39 for the first wicket.

However, once Sandhu got the breakthrough with a one-handed return catch off Jivanjot, it was a virtual procession of batsmen to and fro from the dressing room to the batting crease.

Gitansh Khera, one of four batsmen who played a triple figure knock in Punjab’s innings win over Railways in their group opener at home, made the second highest score of 32.

At lunch the visitors were 69 for 3 with skipper Yuvraj Singh at the crease but soon after the break he edged to his counterpart Tare behind the stumps off Sandhu.

There was a brief period of resistance when Khera and Sarbjeet Ladda added 33 runs for the eighth wicket before Mumbai polished off the innings.

Brief scores: Punjab 154 all out (Manan Vohra 34, Gitansh Khera 32; S Thakur 4 for 47, Balwinder Sandhu 4 form 31). Mumbai 103 for 2 (S Iyer not out 61, S Yadav not out 16).

Saha’s 90, Sudeep’s 145 take Bengal to 312/9 vs Karnataka

Bengaluru, Oct 8 (PTI) Wriddhiman Saha made a nice comeback from injury with a finely compiled 90 which complemented youngster Sudeep Chatterjee’s patient 145 as Bengal managed 312 for nine against defending champions Karnataka in their opening Ranji Trophy match, here today.

Put into bat, Bengal slumped to 41 for four before left-handed Sudeep and India’s Test specialist Wriddhiman conjured a 173 run partnership for the fifth wicket in 48.1 overs to take Bengal to a respectable total.

Apart from the duo, the only other batsman to cross the 20-run mark was former captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who scored 24. Six of the Bengal batsmen failed to even reach the double figures.

While Wriddhiman’s three hour and 20 minute vigil saw him face 132 balls hitting 10 fours and a six, Sudeep, who has been the find of Bengal, last season got his second first-class hundred, batting close to six hours. He faced 247 balls hitting 16 boundaries.

For Wriddhiman, the match was about testing his fitness on his comeback after he unfortunately missed the third Test against Sri Lanka after scoring back to back 50’s in the first two Test matches.

The Bengal stumper was cautious to begin with having come in with Bengal positioned precariously. He slowly built his innings in company of Sudeep.

The lanky left-hander Sudeep’s batting is easy to the eye and his upright stance and drives off the frontfoot make him a good player to watch. He looked equally assured off both his front and backfoot while Wriddhiman was particularly strong through the on-side as well hit some glorious shots through the off. When anything short was offered, he rocked back promptly.

Earlier, R Vinay Kumar (3/30) removed the opening duo Naved Ahmed (3) and Abhishek Das (6) his third over with away going deliveries which were pouched behind the wicket by Robin Uthappa and CM Gautham.

Shreevats Goswami (2) was run-out while Manoj Tiwary played an irresponsible shot being holed out off HS Sharath’s bowling to Ravikumar Samarth at deep fine leg.

It was then Wriddhiman joined Sudeep to carry out damage control act.

Brief Scores: Bengal 1st Innings 312/9 in 88 overs (Sudeep Chatterjee 145, Wriddhiman Saha 90, R Vinay Kumar 3/30) vs Karnataka.

Jadeja’s all-round show helps Saurashtra take upper hand

Rajkot: Riding on a superb all-round performance by Ravindra Jadeja, Saurashtra have taken a first innings against Jharkhand on the first day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match here today.

After bundling out Jharkhand for a meagre 168, Saurashtra scored 205 to take a slender 37-run lead in the first innings at stumps on day one.

Electing to bat, Jharkhand kept losing wickets at regular interval as Jadeja wreaked havoc, taking six wickets for 71, while Kamlesh Makvana (4/46) also chipped in with four scalps.

Opener Ishan Kishan top scored with 87 but only three other batsmen could reach the double-digit mark.

Replying to Jharkhand’s total, Saurashtra also did not have a good start and they also failed to apply themselves.

But thanks to Jadeja’s 75-ball 58, the home team managed to take a slight edge over their opponents.

For Jharkhand, Shahbaz Nadeem claimed four for 38.

Brief scores:

Jharkhand 1st innings: 168 all out (Ishan Kishan 87, Ravindra Jadeja 6/71, Kamlesh Makvana 4/46).

Saurashtra 1st innings: 205 all out (Ravindra Jadeja 58, Cheteshwar Pujara 27; Shahbaz Nadeem 4/38).

Ishant restricts Vidarbha to 222/6 on Day 1

New Delhi: Ishant Sharma returned to competitive cricket with an impressive effort of 3/26 as Delhi restricted Vidarbha to 222 for six on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match, here today.

Ishant worked up good pace and bounce from the Feroz Shah Kotla strip after Gautam Gambhir opted to field. The lanky speedster bowled in four short spells and got wickets in three of those spells.

For Vidarbha, Faiz Fazal (55) and Subramanium Badrinath (44) added 89 runs for the third wicket in 38.4 overs. While they steadied the innings from 16/2 after Wasim Jaffer (0) was run out without playing a ball.

The other important partnership was 71 for sixth wicket between Aditya Shanware (41) and Jitesh Sharma (35 batting).

However, the day was about Ishant showing that he is a class apart from other bowlers. While fellow paceman Pradeep Sangwan (2/34) barely got the ball to bounce above shin, Ishant was getting it to rear awkwardly. Ganesh Sathish got one that bounced and the resultant slash was taken by Vaibhav Rawal at third slip.

His second wicket was well set Fazal, who gloved it to Mohit Ahlawat behind stumps as it kicked up from length.

Shanware at the end of the day got one that had shade extra bounce and moved away as Ahlawat took a simple catch.

It was Jitesh, whose cheeky shots got the score moving after Vidarbha were stuck for better part of the day.

Brief Scores:

Vidarbha 1st innings: 222 for 6 (Faiz Fazal 55, S Badrinath 44; Ishant Sharma 3/26) vs Delhi.

Assam in command on Day 1 of Ranji against Raj

Guwahati: Assam’s bowlers stifled Rajasthan, reducing them to 147 for five in their first innings on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group C cricket match here today.

Opener Vineet Saxena top-scored for Rajasthan with a 143-ball 42, which included seven hits to the fence.

Rajesh Bishnoi (33) and skipper Ashok Menaria (26) were the other notable contributors in an otherwise shoddy performance by the Rajasthan batsmen.

Assam bowlers, on the other hand, put up a splendid combined show and shared the spoils rather equally. Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad bagged two, while Arup Das and Krishna Das scalped a wicket apiece in a disciplined performance.

At stumps, Dishant Yagnik (15) and debutant Kukna Ajay Singh (9) were holding fort for Rajasthan, who faced 69 overs in the day.

Brief Scores:

Rajasthan 1st Innings: 147/5 in 69 overs (Vineet Saxena 42, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad 2/43).

TN reach 225/5 against MP on Day 1

Indore: Tamil Nadu made a decent start reaching 225 for five in their first innings against hosts Madhya Pradesh at stumps on the opening day of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match, here today.

Sent into bat, Tamil Nadu did not have the best of starts as they lost opener K Bharath Shankar (1) early.

Tamil Nadu skipper Abhinav Mukund (24) and Baba Aparajith (56) then added 63 tuns for the second wicket before the former departed, caught and bowled by medium pacer Udit Birla (2/16).

Aparajith scored his runs off 133 balls with the help of six fours but he could not prolong his stay, nicking one to Naman Ojha behind the stumps of the bowling of Ishwar Pandey (2/57) at the team score of 100 in 44.1 overs.

Senior batsman and wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik (29) followed suit four overs later, handing Pandey his second scalp of the day.

Aparajith’s brother Baba Indrajith too got a start, scoring 47 runs off 103 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six before becoming Birla’s second victim of the day, caught by Ojha.

At stumps, Ramaswamy Prasanna was unbeaten on 51 which came off 118 balls and J Kousik on 14.

For Madhya Pradesh, Pandey and and Birla shared four wickets between them while Puneet Datey (1/33) accounted for the other Tamil Nadu batsman.

Brief Scores:

Tamil Nadu: 225 for five in 89 overs (Baba Aparajith 56, Ramaswamy Prasanna 51 not out; Udit Birla 2/16).

Parthiv scores century as Gujarat reach 250/5 on Day 1

Vizianagaram: Out-of-favour India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel scored a brilliant century to help Gujarat overcome early jitters and reach 250 for five against Andhra on the first day of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match here today.

Put in to bat, Gujarat were struggling at 69 for three before Parthiv steadied in the boat, scoring a 176-ball 122, studded with 18 fours.

He also put on a crucial 105-run partnership with Y Venugopal Rao (39) for the fourth wicket.

At stumps, Rujul Bhatt was batting on 27 and Niraj Patel was unbeaten on 17.

For Andhra, DP Vijaykumar was the pick of the wickets with figures of three for 61, while D Siva Kumar chipped in with two for 33.

Brief scores:

Gujarat 1st innings: 250 for five in 81 overs (Parthiv Patel 122, Y Venugopal Rao 39, Rujul Bhatt batting 27; DP Vijaykumar 3/61, D Siva Kumar 2/33) vs Andhra.

Maharashtra 231/5 against Odisha on Day 1

Cuttack: Harshad Khadiwale and Ankit Bawne struck dogged half-centuries as Maharashtra reached 231 for five in their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match against Odisha here today.

Medium pacer Biplab Samantray was the most successful bowler for Odisha, returning impressive figures of three for 31 in 10 overs at the Barabati Stadium, the venue for the second T20 match between India and South Africa in the ongoing series that was marred by crowd disruptions.

At stumps on day 1, Rahul Tripathi was batting on 41 while Chirag Khurana was giving him company on 18.

Sent into bat, Maharashtra lost Swapnil Gugale (2) with only three runs on the board in the fourth over to Suryakant Pradhan, who ended the ended with 2 for 65 in 21 overs.

Skipper Rohit Motwani was out for 22 off 45 balls, having hit five boundaries. The experienced Kedar Jadhav (2), who has an ODI hundred to his name, was the next to go as the visitors slumped to 62 for three.

A 91-run for the fourth wicket between Khadiwale and Bawne revived Maharashtra, but both of them fell after doing all the hard work.

While Khadiwale hit 10 fours in his 164-ball knock, Bawne found the fence seven times while facing 146 deliveries.

Rasool’s unbeaten 101 hold J&K together against HP

Dharamsala: Jammu and Kashmir rode skipper Pervez Rasool’s unbeaten century to post 274 for eight at stumps on the opening day of their Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match against hosts Himachal Pradesh, here today.

Rasool made a strokeful unbeaten 101 that came off 167 balls and was studded with eight boundaries and three sixes to single-handedly take Jammu and Kashmir to a respectable total.

Besides Rasool, Ian Dev Singh made 47 while opener Adil Reshi scored 45.

Asked to bat, Jammu and Kashmir lost their first wicket in the form of Shubham Khajuria (8) at the team score of 41 in 11.1 overs.

Jammu and Kashmir lost two more quick wickets in Reshi and Paras Sharma (23) before Ian Dev Singh and Rasool shared 77 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings.

But Jammu and Kashmir witnessed another mini collapse when they lost four wickets by adding just 61 runs.

Rasool, on the other hand, stood like a rock and played a captain’s knock to hold Jammu and Kashmir’s innings together.

For Himachal Pradesh, Rishi Dhawan (3/98) picked up three wickets Akash Vasisht (2/59) scalped two.

Brief Scores:

Jammu and Kashmir: 274 for eight in 90 overs (Parvez Rasool 101 not out; Rishi Dhawan 3/98).

Services score 230 for three on Day 1

Porvorim, Oct 8 (PTI) Anshul Gupta, Soumik Chatterjee and Rajat Paliwal scored half-century each to steer Services to 230 for three against Goa at the end of first day’s play of a Ranji Trophy Group C match here today.

High on confidence after winning the first match against Jharkhand, Services got off to a good start.

Put in to bat by Goa, opener Anshul top scored with 89, while Soumik (52) and Rajat (57 not out) also contributed with important runs to take the team to a decent score when bad light stopped play with five overs remaining.

At stumps, Yashpal Singh, who is yet to open his account, was giving Rajat company.

Openers Anshul and Soumik made a good start, putting on 89 runs before the latter got out. Anshul then found an able partner in Ravi Chauhan and the duo put on 52 runs for the second wicket.

After Chauhan’s departure, Anshul continued with Rajat and took the team past 200-run mark. They shared a 67-run stand for the third wicket. But just before stumps Anshul lost his concentration and was plumbed leg before for 89 that came off 225 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes.

For the home team, Shadab Jakati, Saurabh Bandekar and Amit Yadav took wicket apiece.

Brief scores:

Services 1st innings: 230 for 3 in 85 overs (Anshul Gupta 89, Rajat Paliwal batting 57, Soumik Chatterjee 52)

Baroda in command against Railways

Vadodara: Baroda bundled out Railways for 166 before scoring 118/1 in their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match here today.

Opting to bat after captain Mahesh Rawat won the toss, Railways found the going difficult from the word go, soon losing half the side with just 45 runs on the board.

The visitors were eventually all out 48 overs at the Moti Bagh Stadium.

Fast-medium bowler Hardik Pandya (5/61) and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh (4/31) were the wreckers in chief, sharing nine wickets between them.

Leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who has played a Test and two ODIs, was the top scorer for Railways with a knock of 51 off 84 balls. He hit seven boundaries and a six.

Leading the side, Rawat made 20 off 24 balls, while Krishnakant Upadhyay struck a breezy 26 off 28 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six.

At stumps on Day 1, Baroda trailed by 48 runs with nine wickets remaining in their first innings. Opener Kedar Devdhar was unbeaten on 69 and home team skipper Aditya Waghmode was on 30 when stumps were drawn for the day.

Prem hits unbeaten ton in Kerala’s 186/5

Hyderabad: Rohan Prem struck an unbeaten century as Kerala crawled to 186 for five in their Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match against Hyderabad here today.

At stumps on the first day, Prem was batting on 106 off 245 balls, while Raiphi Gomez was giving him company on 10 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Prem hit 13 boundaries and two sixes after the visitors elected to bat. Opener V A Jagadeesh was the second-best scorer for Kerala 42 0ff 160 balls.

Vishal Sharma and Akash Bhandari picked up two wickets apiece for Hyderabad.