Mumbai: Wasim Jaffer led from the front and cracked his 35th Ranji century to guide Mumbai to 242/2 on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash against Odisha at the Wankhede Stadium here today.
The Mumbai captain remained unbeaten on 125 at stumps and his innings was laced with 11 fours and 3 sixes. This ton took his tally of first-class centuries to 51.
Electing to bat, the hosts lost both the openers in the first session and were reduced to 70/2 at lunch. With all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and fast bowler Akbar Khan ruled out with injuries for this game, Mumbai drafted in 42-year old leg spinner Pravin Tambe and Kshemal Waingankar.
Opener and wicket-keeper batsman Aditya Tare, who has been the leading run scorer for the side was caught behind for 16 runs, while Sushant Marathe made a slow 27 before being castled by Basant Mohanty.
Coming into bat at 33/1, Jaffer paced his innings well and later forged an unbeaten century stand with Hiken Shah to steer the team past 200 runs on the first day. Mumbai targeted left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh and milked 17 runs off his single over. The 35-year-old Jaffer was aggressor in the over with 13 runs.
The veteran was well supported by Shah, who added another half century to his kitty. He struck 8 fours in his unbeaten knock of 67. Jaffer got a reprieve when he was dropped at 120 by Suryakant Pradhan off Biplab Samantray. Mumbai was then placed at 225.
Odisha's mainstay bowler Basant Mohanty was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets for 33 runs. Mohanty, who got rid off both the openers, was the only one to have wickets to his credit. Deepak Behera and skipper Biplab Samantray supported him well but remained wicket less.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 1st innings: 242 for 2 (Wasim Jaffer 125 not out; Hiken Shah 67 not out; Basant Mohanty 2 for 33.)
Karnataka skittles out Punjab cheaply for 174 runs in Ranji
Karnataka skittles out Punjab cheaply for 174 runs in Ranji
Bangalore: Karnataka skittled out Punjab cheaply for 174 runs in their first innings and then reached 59 for two at stumps on the opening day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match at KSCA Stadium here today.
Sent into bat, Punjab had no answers to combat the skills of Karnataka's medium pacer Stuart Binny (3/62) and left-arm orthodox spinner KP Appanna (3/29). After the visitors had lost in-form opener Jiwanjot Singh for five, his opening partner Manan Vohra made a useful 69 in Uday Kaul's company, who made 29 and stitched a crucial partnership of 73 runs for the second wicket.
Punjab, whose batting looked bullish in their last game against Vidarbha, folded up in 54.5 overs at the same venue where Chetsehwar Pujara and Gautam Gambhir had cracked a triple ton and a century for India A against West Indies A a few months back.
Apart from Vohra and Kaul, captain Mandeep Singh was the only batsman to reach the double-digit score of an unbeaten 32, which came in 133 minutes. Punjab's innings went awry when they lost last six wickets for just 33 runs.
Appanna and Binny packed off half of the team, with just 141 on board, the other wickets being claimed by captain Vinay Kumar, H S Sharath and Abhimanyu Mithin, who were right on their money scalping one wicket each.
In reply, Karnataka failed to capitalise on the good work done by their bowlers as they lost two wickets, with 40 runs on the board. Pacer Manpreet Goni did the damage by sending openers -- Mayank Agarwal (17) and Satish Ganesh (5) -- packing to the pavillion.
When the umpires called for stumps, Karnataka were 59 for two, with Rahul and Manish Pandey batting on 22 and 13, respectively.
Brief Score: Punjab 1st inngs: 174 runs in 54.5 overs (M Vohra 69; KP Appanna 3/29). Karnataka 1st innings: 59 for two in 27 overs (KL Rahul 22; MS Gony 2/20).
Baroda dismisses Services for 191 on day one in Ranji Trophy
Baroda dismisses Services for 191 on day one in Ranji Trophy
Vadodara: India discards Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan shared seven wickets between them as Baroda dismissed Services for 191 in their first innings and then reached 62 for no loss at stumps on the opening day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match at Reliance Stadium here today.
Seamer Patel (4/38) scalped four wickets, while off-spinner Pathan (3/19) took three. Bhargav Bhatt (2/38) and Murtuja Vahora (1/49) too contributed with two and one wicket after Baroda decided to field.
For Services, Yashpal Singh (58) and Soumya Swain (62) cracked twin half centuries to help their team recover from an early slump. Asked to take the first strike, Baroda lost both their openers -- Pratik Desai (6) and Nakul Verma (6) within 6.1 overs, courtesy Patel, who produced a brilliant spell of seam bowling.
Patel again came back in the 11th over to take another wicket, when he had Anshul Gupta caught by Vahora. Next to go was skipper Rajat Paliwal (0) as Services slipped to 42 for four in 15 overs.
Yashpal (58) and Swain (62) then arrested the slide and steadied the ship with a 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Once Yashpal was dismissed in the 43rd over by Bhatt, Swain tried to continue the work but next batsman Vishnu Tiwari (8) too was dismissed cheaply by Bhatt, who trapped him infront of wicket.
Swain was back to the hut in the 61st over when he was caught by Shah off Pathan's bowling as Services were reduced to 181 for seven. The next three batsmen could add only 10 runs more to their innings. Baroda then returned to produce a solid batting display with the openers SP Wakaskar (24) and DM Mistry (33) ensuring they reach 62 without any loss at the draw of stumps.
Brief Scores: Services 1st innings: 191 all out in 65 overs (Yashpal Singh 58, S Swain 62; Munaf Patel 4/38, Yusuf Pathan 3/19). Baroda 1st innings: 62 for no loss in 22 overs (DM Mistry 33; Koteswar Rao 0/12).
Nehra rips apart Vidarbha with a 6-wkt haul on a 'green top'
Nehra rips apart Vidarbha with a 6-wkt haul on a 'green top'
New Delhi: Veteran speedster Ashish Nehra made full use of the conducive conditions as he wreaked havoc with a six-wicket haul, which was instrumental in Delhi skittling out Vidarbha for a paltry 88 in Ranji Trophy group league encounter at the Roshanara club ground.
Nehra who grabbed six for 16 in 10 overs took six of the first seven wickets with controlled swing bowling on a 'green top' where play was stopped for 28 minutes due to dangerous pitch conditions with one of the Vidarbha batsmen getting hit by a Parvinder Awana bouncer.
Rashmi Ranjan Parida (28) and Amol Jungade (27) were the two players who crossed 20 while other player to reach double figures was skipper Shalabh Srivastava. Heavy roller was used to get the bounce more even before play resumed but when Delhi batted, it didn't look as menacing as it was during the first session.
At stumps, Delhi were 96 for two in reply with skipper Gautam Gambhir making 49 off 135 balls with six fours. Unmukt Chand was dismissed for 37 although he hit seven delightful boundaries.
The morning belonged to Nehra who troubled the Vidarbha batsmen with his pace and swing.
He first trapped left-handed opener Faiz Fazal (4) leg before with a delivery that came in after pitching. His opening partner, a right handed batsman Akshay Kolhar (1) got one that came in as he offered a simple catch to Rajat Bhatia at short leg. Ravi Jangid (1), skipper Shalabh Srivastava (10) and Ranjit Paradkar (0) left in successive overs as Nehra completed a five-for.
Urvesh Patel (3) was dismissed by Narwal as played on the up with skipper Gambhir taking a well-judged catch at mid-off. Nehra got his sixth dismissing Shrikant Wagh edging one to Rahul Yadav behind stumps before the drama started.
It was the second ball of the 19th over bowled by Parvinder Awana which took off from good length and hit Amol Jungade on the right shoulder. The batsman immediately dropped his bat and called for medical attention. After protests from Vidarbha players, the match officials decided to halt proceedings for 28 minutes as heavy roller was used to ease out the steep bounce before play started again.
It was Awana and debutant Navdeep Saini (2/18), who polished off the remaining three wickets with young 21-year-old from Karnal working up brisk pace in the post-lunch session.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 88 all out in 31.1 overs (Rashmi Ranjan Parida 28, Ashish Nehra 6/16, Navdeep Saini 2/18). Delhi 96/2 in 48.3 overs (Unmukt Chand 37, Gautam Gambhir 49).
R P Singh's bowling gives UP upperhand against Bengal
R P Singh's bowling gives UP upperhand against Bengal
Kolkata: R P Singh took two wickets in a fine display of seam bowling at the fag end of the opening day after Uttar Pradesh recovered from 138/8 to 212 to take an upperhand against a depleted Bengal in their Ranji Trophy group B league today.
Put into bat, Uttar Pradesh were left reeling at 82/4 at lunch but Prashant Gupta's 53 put them past century mark before Imtiaz Ahmed (36 from 44 balls; 6x4) and Ali Murtaza (33 from 40 balls; 6x4) counter-attacked in an entertaining 74-ball 60 for the ninth wicket to take them to a fighting total.
Sourav Sarkar was the pick of Bengal bowlers with 4/51, while Ashok Dinda too was impressive, taking 3/75. In reply, Bengal were left tottering at 26 for two from 10 overs with the former India pacer R P Singh, in his bid to make a comeback, rattling the top order with searing pace and seam movements.
Still 186 runs behind and with eight wickets in hand, it will be interesting to see how the inexperienced Bengal batting line-up rise to the pace challenge against the group B leaders. With two more matches in hand, UP are almost certain to finish among top three to make the last eight cut.
Bengal, who have one more match left against Tamil Nadu away, are safe from relegation lying on fifth but they have the improbable task of winning two matches to keep their quarterfinals hope alive. Having included Arindam Das despite a sore back, the senior opener could not open his account and was caught behind in a lazy display to become R P's first victim.
R P's second wicket in the penultimate over was a treat to watch with the former pacer, bowling at 135kph, uprooted 18-year-old debutante Ravichandran Easwaran's middle stump with a sharp incoming delivery.
The rookie Bengal batsman showed a fine temperament leaving the away going deliveries and looked solid in defence but only to be dismissed by a beauty. The left-arm pacer attacked Abhimanyu from round the stumps, creating a sharp angle and the young Bengal batsman struck two boundaries with delightful on-drives.
R P persisted with that angle bowling wide of the crease to tempt the youngster who failed on one occasion as the ball crashed the gate to uproot the middle stump. Earlier, the four seamers attack of Dinda, Sarkar, Shib Shankar Paul (2/51) and skipper Shukla (1/34) rattled UP to 138/8 but only to let them off the hook.
It appeared strange why Shukla did not bring in his main off-spinner Saurashish Lahiri. Shukla had part-time offie Writtick Chatterjee, the second debutante, and medium pacer Sayan Sekhar Mondal at his disposal but the skipper persisted with the four seam attack as the duo of Imtiaz and Murtaza turned it around for them in the later part of the second session.
Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 1st Innings 212; 70.1 overs (Prashant Gupta 53; Sourav Sarkar 4/51, Ashok Dinda 3/75). Bengal 1st Innings: 26/2.
Hyderabad scores 234/3 against Goa
Hyderabad scores 234/3 against Goa
Porvorim: Opener P A Reddy missed out on a century as Hyderabad scored 234 for three against Goa on the opening day of their Group 'C' Ranji Trophy match, here today.
Reddy was unlucky to be dismissed for 99 by medium pacer Hanumant Gadekar in the 65th over. Reddy's 191-ball innings was decorated with 14 fours and one six. Electing to bat first after winning the toss at Academy Ground, Hyderabad got off to a poor start when medium pacer Buddhadev Mangaldas had T Suman caught by Sagun Kanat for 13.
Next man-in Ravi Teja and Reddy added 101 runs for the second-wicket partnership to steady the innings before Mangaldas returned to dismiss the former for 54. Teja was caught by Sagun Kamat.
Reddy, who looked all set to complete his much-deserved century, edged the ball that drifted in and turned away while looking for a single. Hanuma Vihari (44 batting) and B P Sandeep (23 batting) played cautiously thereafter, adding 47 runs for the unbeaten fourth wicket when the play ended for the day. For Goa, Mangaldas was the most successful bowler with two for 40.
Jharkhand squad for Ranji Trophy Group A match
Jamshedpur: A 15-member Jharkhand team has been announced for the upcoming Ranji Trophy Group A match against Vidarbha to be played from December 22 to 25 at the Keenan Stadium here.
There was only one change in the squad with Raju Kumar replacing opener Bhavin Thakker, Secretary of Jharkhand State Cricket Association Rajesh Verma said here today. Jharkhand had earned six points from as many matches and would look to register an outright victory against Vidarbha on home turf.
While Jharkhand lost to Haryana and Odisha outright in the league matches, it had secured three points against mighty Mumbai with the help of Saurabh Tiwary's blistering career-best knock of 238 in the previous match and one point each against Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat.
The Team: Shahbaz Nadeem (Captain), Rameez Nemat, Raju Kumar, Bhavik Thaker, Ishank Jaggi, Saurabh Tiwary, Pappu Singh, Sunny Gupta, Samar Quadri, Rahul Shukla, Kumar Deobrat, Subrato Ghosh, S S Rao, Varun Aaron and Ajay Yadav.
Maharashtra takes upperhand against Kerala
Maharashtra takes upperhand against Kerala
Kannur: Maharashtra's Akshay Darekar and Chirag Khurana spun a web around the Kerala batsmen to bundle out the hosts for 151 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group 'C' match here today.
Maharashtra finished the day at 106 for one with Harshad Khadiwale unbeaten on 67. Left-arm spinner Darekar and off-spinner Khurana picked up seven wickets between them to knock the daylight out of the hosts at Conor Vayal Stadium, Tellicherry.
Darekar and Khurana dismissed the Kerala top-order to leave them stuttering at 75 for four. A brief 46-run fifth-wicket partnership between Robert Fernandez and Sachin Baby offered some hopes to Kerala but the spinners struck in tandem between the middle overs of the innings to reduce Kerala to 127 for eight.
The last two wickets couldn't provide much resistance as the hosts were dismissed for 151 in 57 overs. Maharashtra's reply was confident as Khadiwale and Vijay Zol (28) shared an opening stand of 92.
Zol was dismissed a few overs before stumps, but continued with his innings and scored his third successive fifty.
Brief Scores: Kerala 151 all out in 57 overs (Sachin Baby 30, Akshay Darekar 4/54, Chirag Khurana 3/26). Maharashtra: 106 for one in 32 overs (Harshad Khadiwale 67 batting).
Sunny's century helps Haryana post 266/2 against Gujarat
Sunny's century helps Haryana post 266/2 against Gujarat
Ahmedabad: Sunny Singh's unbeaten century propelled Haryana to 266 for two against Gujarat on the opening day of their Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match, here today.
Sunny's unconquered 139-run knock was rife with 19 fours and two sixes as he reduced the host bowlers to a mere spectator at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera. Having elected to bat, Haryana lost only two wickets before stumps with Sachin Rana (51 batting) giving company to Sunny.
Sunny was also involved in two key partnerships with opener Rahul Dewan and Rana. He first stitched a 173-run partnership for the second wicket with Dhawan, who scored a cautious 162-ball 68, and then went on to add an unbeaten 91 with Rana.
Haryana got off to a poor start when Avi Barot's (0) stay in the middle was cut short to just five balls by left-arm seamer Rush Kalaria. Next-man in, Rahul combined well with Sunny and struck a fine half-century. He ended up scoring 52 of his runs in boundaries.
After he was dismissed by medium pacer Janmit Bumrah, Rana made sure there was no further damage.
Brief Scores: Haryana: 266 for 2 in 90 overs (Sunny Singh 139 batting, Rahul Dewan 68; Rush Kalaria 1/63).
Sharma hits 108, J&K bowls out Assam for 263
Sharma hits 108, J&K bowls out Assam for 263
Jammu: Gokul Sharma struck his fourth first-class hundred as Assam were bowled out for 263 against Jammu and Kashmir on the opening day of their Group 'C' Ranji Trophy match, here today.
Sharma's 203-ball 108 and his 102-run eighth-wicket stand with Prasanta Sonowal (40 not out) lifted the visitors from a precarious 150 for seven to a respectable 263 at Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground.
Sent in to bat, Assam kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and slumped to 83 for five in 37th over. J&K's medium pacer Mohammed Mudhasir Gujree bowled with a lot of fire and struck regularly to rock the visitors' top and middle-order batting. He picked up four of Assam's first five wickets.
A 44-run seventh-wicket stand between skipper Abu Nechim and Gokul tried to stem the flow of wickets but it was the Sonowal-Gokul partnership that boosted Assam's total. Sonowal played a handy knock of 85-ball 40. For J&K, Mudhasir ended with figures of five for 71.
Brief Scores: Assam 262 all out in 87.5 overs (Gokul Sharma 108; Mudhasir 5/71).
Jalaj, Ojha's centuries put Madhya Pradesh on top
Jalaj, Ojha's centuries put Madhya Pradesh on top
Indore: Naman Ojha struck his second successive hundred while Jalaj Saxena scored an unbeaten 157 as Madhya Pradesh piled on 342 for two against Saurashtra on the opening day of their Group 'B' Ranji Trophy match, here today.
Ojha's fourth century of the season and his 207-run partnership for the second wicket with Saxena put the hosts in a strong position at the Holkar Stadium. Ojha hit an attacking 231-ball 154 laced with 12 fours and eight towering sixes, while Saxena's unconquered 265-ball 157-knock was decorated with 21 fours and two sixes.
Saurashtra bowler Abhishek Bhatt struck in the tenth over with the wicket of Satyam Choudhary (11). This brought together Jalaj and Ojha who feasted on the wayward Saurashtra attack on the good batting track almost till the end before Ojha was run out by Jaydev Unadkat in the penultimate over of the day.
Jalaj's hundred was the seventh of his first-class career and Ojha scored his 13th to take Madhya Pradesh past 300. At stumps, Mohnish Mishra (6 batting) was giving company to Jalaj.
Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh 342 for two in 88 overs (Jalaj Saxena 157 batting, Naman Ojha 154; Abhishek Bhatt 1/54).
Tamil Nadu 200/8 against Railways
New Delhi: R Prasanna's unbeaten half-century took Tamil Nadu to 200 for eight after Railways bowlers Anureet Singh and Ranjitkumar Mali took three wickets each on the opening day of their Group 'B' Ranji Trophy match, here today.
Mali was the only batsman to make significant contribution for the visitors with a gritty 206-ball 88 as none of the other batsmen showed enough patience to stay at the crease and grind it out. Tamil Nadu were left reeling at 49 for four after Mali took three of the first five wickets including the key scalps of Abhinav Mukund, S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik.
Prasanna revived the innings, first with Baba Aparajith, who scored 29 off 119, and then with Lakshmipathy Balaji (22 batting) for the eighth wicket.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 200 for 8 in 89 overs (R Prasanna 88 batting; Ranjitkumar Mali 3/29, Anureet Singh 3/49).
