Ranji quarters: Bowlers lead Kerala's superb fightback on Day 1

Kerala hit back to reduce Gujarat to 97 for 4 after being bowled out for 185 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals in Wayanad, on Tuesday.

Gujarat made most of winning the toss as they struck at regular intervals.

Opener Mohammed Azharudeen (17) was the first to go, bowled by Rush Kalaria.

After a 23-run partnership, Kerala lost the wickets of P Rahul (26), Sijomon Joseph and Sachin Baby at the score of 52.

Star batsman Sanju Samson, who has featured for India in T20 internationals, retired hurt, to further dent Kerala's hopes. He was forced to return to the pavilion for 17 after being hit on his hand.

Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi scalped two each to lead Kerala's superb fightback with the ball.

Thampi struck a big blow when he dismissed Parthiv for 43.

Brief scores: Kerala 185 all out (Basil Thampi 37, C T Gaja 4 for 57) vs Kerala 97 for 4 in 24 overs (Parthiv Patel 43, Sandeep Warrier 2 for 21, Basil Thampi 2 for 36).

Karnataka gain upperhand on Day 1

Karnataka grabbed honours on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final, bowling out formidable Rajasthan for 224 in their first innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

At stumps on Day 1, Karnataka were 12 without loss in five overs with openers Ravikumar Samarth and Dega Nischal unbeaten on seven and five, respectively.

The day also saw a couple of bad decisions by the umpires. Robin Bist's leg before dismissal came despite the ball climbing up and Rajesh Bishnoi was lucky to survive off K Gowtham.

Sent into bat, none of the batsmen made any significant contributions, except for captain Mahipal Lomror (50) and Rajesh Bishnoi (79) hitting fifties batting lower down the order.

All the bowlers were among the wickets, barring Ronit More. Gowtham and Abhimanyu Mithun bagged three wickets each to emerge as highest wicket-takers.

Rajasthan began their innings poorly by loosing opener Amitkumar Gautam with just 18 runs on the board.

Chetan Bist and Lomror consolidated, but the former was cleaned up by Shreyas Gopal, leaving the visitors at 64 for two.

Karnataka bagged two more quick wickets -- of Robin Bist (13) and Ashok Maneria (0) -- through Vinay Kumar and Gopal as the visitors slipped to 135 for six.

The 85-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Deepak Chahar (22) and Bishnoi brought some respectability to Rajasthan's total, before the former departed at 220 for seven after being adjudged leg before to Gowtham.

Brief scores: Rajasthan 224 all out (Mahipal Lomror 50, Rajesh Bishnoi 79; Abimanyu Mithun 3/48, Krishappa Gowtham 3/54) vs Karnataka 12 for no loss in 5 overs.

Rinku's aggressive century boosts UP

Middle-order batsman Rinku Singh struck a fluent century to guide Uttar Pradesh to 340 for seven in their first innings on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against Saurashtra, in Lucknow.

Rinku slammed 150 off just 181 balls with the help of 19 boundaries to take Uttar Pradesh out of trouble after the hosts were reeling on 54 for four at one stage on the opening day.

Rinku stitched two crucial partnerships -- 145 runs for the fifth wicket with Priyam Garg (49) and 85 runs with Umesh Yadav for the sixth wicket -- to keep Uttar Pradesh afloat.

Besides Rinku and Priyam, opener Madhav Kaushik (37), Saurabh Kumar (26 not out) and Shivam Mavi (28 not out) also made useful contributions with the bat.

Left-arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (3/111) was the most successful bowler for Saurashtra, while skipper Jaydev Unadkat (2/65) also chipped in with two wickets.  

Back from Australia, India's batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara is turning out for Saurashtra in the last-eight encounter.

Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 340 for 7 in 90 overs (Rinku Singh 150; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3/111) vs Saurashtra.

Sudha, Panwar rescue Uttarakhand

Middle-order batsman Avneesh Sudha hit a patient 91 to guide Uttarakhand to a respectable 293 for six against reigning champions Vidarbha on day one of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Nagpur.

Put in to bat, Uttarakhand lost their skipper and opener Vineet Saxena (5) early after he was cleaned up by medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani.

The visitors were in a spot of bother as they lost two more wickets in quick succession - Vaibhav Bhatt (5) and Karnaveer Kaushal (31) - and were reduced to 44 for 3.

But then Sudha, a right-handed batsman, along with Vaibhav Singh Panwar (67 off 128 balls) resurrected the visitors' innings and steadied their ship.

The duo conjured a crucial 140-run stand for the fourth wicket to bail the side out of trouble and frustrate the Vidarbha bowlers.

Sudha, in his 180-ball innings, struck 14 boundaries.

After Panwar's departure, Saurabh Rawat (68 not out) joined Sudha as the two added 48 runs for the fifth wicket.

But then Sudha missed a deserving hundred after being caught and bowled by off-spinner Akshay Wakhare.

Brief Scores: Uttarakhand 293 for 6 (Avneesh Sudha 91, Saurabh Rawat 68 not out; Akshay Wakhare 2-46) vs Vidarbha.