Ranji: Gopal's magic overshadows Dube's brilliance

Mumbai bowled out for 251 despite rapid Dube fifty

India all-rounder Shivam Dube carried his rich recent form into domestic circuit cracking a rapid fifty but Shreyas Gopal's four-wicket haul ensured that Mumbai were bowled out for 251 on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

Dube hit four fours and two sixes to make 51 off 72 balls and was among the three Mumbai batters to make a fifty, with Bhupen Lalwani (50 off 63 balls, 6x4s) and Tanush Kotian (56 off 105 balls, 6x4s) adding precious runs to their first innings total.

If Lalwani and Dube's efforts took Mumbai to the 200-run mark, it was Kotian's rearguard action that extended their total to 250, and it could be vital in the ensuing days.

Dube, who recently bagged the player of the series award in the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, looked primed for a bigger knock but failed to kick-on.

The Gopal-led Kerala bowling attack kept chipping away with regular breakthroughs, not allowing Mumbai batters to find their feet for a longer haul in the middle, here at the St Xavier's KCA Cricket Ground.

Gopal was parsimonious while taking 4/28 off 18.4 overs while Basil Thampi (2/41) and Jalaj Saxena (2/80) gave him good support against Mumbai, who are coming off two consecutive outright wins in this season.

At Kolkata's Eden Gardens, veteran Anustup Majumdar struck a timely 55 not out and his 79-run unbeaten stand for the fifth wicket with Abhishek Porel (47 not out) took Bengal to 206/4 in 73 overs against Chhattisgarh at the end of play.

Majumdar reached 55 from 94 balls with eight fours as Bengal consolidated their position on a cold and cloudy day, having made a shaky start.

Porel cracked six fours and a six to reach 47 from 75 balls.

Openers Sourav Paul (12) perished early while his partner Shreyansh Ghosh, who consumed 111 balls, managed a mere one four and 22 runs.

But Ghosh managed a 51-run second-wicket stand with Sudip Kumar Gharami, who missed his fifty by a whisker, falling for 49 from 81 balls with eight hits to the fence.

At the Jalan Outdoor Stadium in Dibrugarh, Assam took control of their clash against Andhra as they reached 43 for no loss after bundling out the visitors for a mere 188.

Andhra were shot out for a paltry total after collapsing on either side of Shoaib Mohammed Khan's (63) and Nithish Kumar Reddy's (49) knocks, who milked 113 runs for the seventh wicket.

Andhra were reduced to 70 for six at one stage with the last game's centurion Ricky Bhui falling cheaply but Shoaib and Reddy rescued their side to some extent.

Rahul Singh returned took six wickets (6/46) while Mukhtar Hussain and Akash Sengupta claimed two wickets apiece for Assam.

In reply, Rishav Das (18 not out) and Rahul Hazarika (21 not out) made a steady start for the hosts in their first innings.

In the fourth match of the Group B, no action was possible between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at the Victoria Park Stadium in Meerut due to bad weather.

Brief scores:

At Thiruvananthapuram: Mumbai 251 all out in 78.4 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 50, Shivam Dube 51, Tanush Kotian 56; Shreyas Gopal 4/28) vs Kerala.

At Kolkata: Bengal 206/4 in 73 overs (Sudip Kumar Gharami 49, Anustup Majumdar 55 n.o, Abhishek Porel 47 n.o) vs Chhattisgarh.

At Dibrugarh: Andhra 188 all out in 72.1 overs (Nithish Kumar Reddy 49, Shoaib Mohammed Khan 63; Rahul Singh 6/46) lead Assam 43/0 in 15 overs (Rishav Das 18 n.o, Rahul Hazarika 21 n.o) by 145 runs.

Vidarbha batters crumble to let advantage slip against Saurashtra

Umesh took four for 56 as Vidarbha bundled out Saurashtra for a modest 206 but found themselves in deep trouble at 26 for 4, still trailing by 180 runs.

It was an inept batting effort by Saurashtra, who are looking to regroup from a four-wicket defeat against Punjab in the last match.

Opener and wicketkeeper batter Harvik Desai (68 off 95 balls) and experienced Cheteshwar Pujara (43 off 105 balls) helped Saurashtra cross the 200-run mark as they were rocked Umesh's hostility.

However, Jaydev Unadkat, Aditya Jadeja, Chirag Jani and Prerak Mankad took a wicket apiece as Saurashtra gained some ground over their opponents.

At Jodhpur, Rajasthan were in driver's seat after left-arm spinner Ajay Singh (5/75) and pacer Arafat Khan (3/34) wrecked Maharashtra first innings, bundling them out for 189.

In reply, Rajasthan reached 110 for two with Deepak Hooda (36) and Karan Lamba (45) holding the fort for them.

At Ahmedabad, Himanshu Rana (193, 252b, 26x4) and Nishant Sindhu (119, 162b, 18x4) made brisk hundreds as Haryana piled up 391 for three on day one against a hapless Manipur attack.

At Delhi, Kumar Kushagra (69 n.o) and captain Virat Singh (85 n.o) helped Jharkhand recover from 65 for four, and reach a healthier 195 for 4 against Services at close on Day 1.

Brief scores: At Nagpur: Saurashtra: 206 all out in 58.4 overs (Harvik Desai 68, Cheteshwar Pujara 43; Umesh Yadav 4/56, Harsh Dubey 2/15) vs Vidarbha: 26/4 in 19 overs.

At Jodhpur: Maharashtra: 189 all out in 55.5 overs (Nikhil Naik 48, Kedar Jadhav 42; Ajay Singh 5/75, Arafat Khan 3/34) vs Rajasthan: 110/2 in 26 overs (Karan Lamba 45 not out, Deepak Hooda 36 not out).

At Ahmedabad: Haryana: 391/3 in 90 overs (Himanshu Rana 193 not out, Nishant Sindhu 119, Ankit Kumar 56) vs Manipur.

At Delhi: Jharkhand: 195/4 in 71 overs (Virat Singh 85 not out, Kumar Kushagra 69 not out; Varun Choudhary 2/18) vs Services. 

TN's Jagadeesan hits unbeaten 155 against Railways

Tamil Nadu opener N Jagadeesan enjoyed a fruitful day as he struck an unbeaten 155 against Railways during their Ranji Trophy Group C fixture in Coimbatore.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, the hosts began on a shaky note, losing Vimal Khumar (0) in the opening over to pacer Yuvraj Singh with just a run on the board.

Jagadeesan and B Sachin (33) added 83 runs for the second wicket before the latter was stumped off Akash Pandey.

TN lost their fourth wicket at 130 before Jagadeesan and Boopathi Kumar (67) joined forces and tailored a 142-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Even as Jagadeesan reached his century, Boopathi was dismissed by Mohammad Saif.

The hosts ended the day at 286 for five, while Pandey claimed two wickets for the visitors.

In another Group C clash in Mysore, Goa ended the day at 228 for eight against Karnataka, thanks to Snehal Kauthankar's composed knock of 83.

Opting to bat, Goa were struggling at 45 for three, while opener Suyash Prabhudessai, who struck 197 in the last meet, was dismissed for 27.

Then, Kauthankar and skipper Darshan Misal (39) constructed an 82-run stand for the fourth wicket. However, the pair failed to last long, with the captain departing to Rohit Kumar.

Vijaykumar Vyshak and Rohit grabbed three wickets each for the hosts.

The other two Group C matches -- Chandigarh vs Gujarat in Chandigarh and Punjab vs Tripura in Mohali -- did not see any play due to poor visibility.

Brief scores:

In Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu 286-5 (N Jagadeesan 155, Boopathi Kumar 67; Akash Pandey 2/74) vs Railways.

In Mysore: Goa 228-8 (Snehal Kauthankar 83; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/35, Rohit Kumar 3/66) vs Karnataka. 

Himanshu takes five as Delhi bowl out MP for 171

Rookie speedster Himanshu Chauhan, playing only his third First-Class game, bagged his maiden five-wicket haul to put Delhi in the driver's seat against Madhya Pradesh on the opening day of an Elite Group D Ranji Trophy encounter in Indore.

Chuahan, who didn't get to bowl a single over in the weather affected previous game in Jammu, grabbed 5 for 51 in 17 overs and was ably supported by medium pacer Divij Mehra (3/48 in 15 overs) as Madhya Pradesh were bundled out for 171 in only 53.2 overs.

In reply, Delhi were 86 for 2 at stumps, losing opener Salil Malhotra (14) and senior left-hander Jonty Sidhu (12).

Yash Dhull (36 batting, 83 balls) showed admirable application and had skipper Himmat Singh (19 batting) for company. Dhull hit six boundaries in the 29 overs that Delhi batted in the final session.

Earlier, Shubham Sharma's decision to bat first backfired as save the skipper, who scored 59, none of the other batters were able to negotiate Chauhan and Mehra, both of whom hit the ideal length, attacked the stumps and got enough movement off the surface to trouble the batters.

While Mehra, who mainly bowls in-cutters and deliveries that hold the line, found the outside edge of the left-handers like opener Himanshu Mantri, Chauhan bowled Yash Dubey with an incoming delivery and dismissed one-down Sumit Kushwah with an away going delivery that was pouched in the slip cordon.

MP were 126 for 8 at one stage and wouldn't have crossed 150 but MI spinner Kumar Kartikeya (33 off 45 balls) used the long handle and added 29 runs for the ninth wicket with Aryan Pandey (11) to give the total some respectability.

Chauhan, who came back for his third spell, trapped him leg-before to complete his maiden five-for.

Twin centuries propel Baroda to 342/4

At Dharamsala, Shashwat Rawat (167 batting, 248 balls) and Shivalik Sharma (112 batting, 157 balls) hammered 30 boundaries between them (15 each) as their 238-run unbroken stand for the fifth wicket took Baroda to 342 for 4 against Himachal Pradesh.

Baroda were 104 for 4 at one point but once the morning moisture dried up, it became a batting paradise with both the visiting side batters making merry.

Rohit Sharma 'Junior' takes five-for

At Cuttack, Jammu and Kashmir seamer Rohit Sharma (5/12 in 13 overs) dismantled hosts Odisha for 130 with out of favour India fast bowler Umran Malik picking up two wickets.

In reply, J&K were tottering at 45 for 4, losing their top-order.

Swapnil picks 4 as Puducherry all-out for 204

Left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh picked up four wickets as Uttarakhand shot Puducherry out for 204 on the opening day in Dehradun. For Puducherry, opener Akash Kargave scored 60 while veteran Paras Dogra scored 42. In reply, Uttarakhand were 1/1 at stumps.

Brief Scores

At Indore: MP 1st Innings 171 (Shubham Sharma 59, Himanshu Chauhan 5/51, Divij Mehra 3/48). Delhi 1st Innings 86/2 (Yash Dhull 36 batting, Himmat Singh 19 batting)

At Dharamsala: Baroda 1st Innings 342/4 (Shaswat Rawat 167 batting, Shivalik Sharma 115 batting) vs HP

At Cuttack: Odisha 1st Innings 130 all out (Rohit Sharma Jr 5/12) vs J&K 1st Innings 45/4.

At Dehradun: Puducherry 1st Innings 204 (Akash Kargave 60, Swapnil Singh 4/61) vs Uttarakhand 1st Innings 1/1.