A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played across India on Monday
The inability of second rung domestic batsmen to cope with movement on a green top came to the fore once again as the Ranji Trophy encounter between Bengal and Baroda saw as many 23 wickets falling on the first day of play in Lahli on Monday.
After Bengal skittled out Baroda for a meagre 97 riding on Ashok Dinda's 6 for 45, little did they know what awaited them in second session.
Such was the abysmal performance of Bengal batsmen that only Sudip Chatterjee (37) along with Sayan Sekhar Mondal (13) reached double figures. Nine other Bengal players managed only 26 runs between them.
With a slender lead of 21 runs, Baroda showed attacking intent in the second innings reaching 63 for 3 with an overall lead of 84 runs.
The first innings lead is inconsequential in this match as there will certainly be an outright result but Baroda have their nose ahead.
In the morning, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary won a good toss and rightly opted to bowl. Dinda brushed aside off field controversies to grab his 21st five-wicket haul in first class cricket.
He was ably supported by Mukesh Kumar (3/39) and Amit Kuila (1/12). Most of the dismissals were either behind the stumps in slip cordon or let before when the ball moved off the pitch. Aditya Waghmode was top scorer for Baroda with 17.
The ineptness was evident when Deepak Hooda who scored 293 at Kotla against Punjab didn’t have the technique to cope with swinging deliveries of Kumar, who got the ball to cut both ways.
Dinda as usual hit the deck hard and got sufficient inward movement. However a thick layer of grass must have intimidated the Bengal youngsters as two first class match old Atit made them look like novices.
Only Sudip showed some composure playing 62 balls but likes Abhimanyu Easwaran was beaten by movement, so was skipper Tiwary, whose poor footwork during initial part saw him edge one to Pinal Shah behind the stumps.
The extra grass layer meant appreciable movement off the pitch which Bengal players didn’t have the wherewithal to cope. A lead of 180 plus will certainly put Bengal in trouble if pitch doesn't wear out.
Brief Scores: Baroda 97 (Ashok Dinda 6/45) and 63/3 (Kedar Devdhar 34 N.O.; Mukesh Kumar 2/22) vs Bengal 1st innings 76 (Atit Seth 7/36).
Delhi’s Dhawan in sublime touch after Rajasthan’s 238
Wayanad (Kerala): Back from an injury break, Shikhar Dhawan looked in fluent touch as he hit six crisp boundaries in his unbeaten 29 with Delhi finishing the first day's play at 37 for no loss against Rajasthan in a Ranji Trophy group B encounter, on Monday.
Rajasthan were bowled out for 238 in their first innings as the pace trio of Navdeep Saini (3/28 in 15 overs), Vikas Tokas (3/48 in 16 overs) and Sumit Narwal (2/41 in 15 overs) shared the bulk of the spoils.
But the focus on the day was the brief period when Dhawan batted, hitting some delectable drives through the off.
The left-hander, who has now fully recuperated from a thumb fracture would like to spend considerable time in the middle and keep himself in contention for a comeback in the Indian side.
Earlier, Gambhir won the toss but Rajasthan never looked in control, save opener Amitkumar Gautam (106) whose 182-ball knock had 15 boundaries and two sixes.
Other than the 56-run stand between Gautam and Deepak Chahar (47), none of the other Rajasthan batsmen showed temperament to stick around in the face of some incisive swing bowling by Navdeep, who is back after an injury lay-off.
Veteran Sumit Narwal also was useful with the new ball bowling incutters to the right-handed batsmen accounting for Manender Singh and Rajesh Bishnoi.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan 1st Innings 238 (Amitkumar Gautam 106, Deepak Chahar 4;, Navdeep Saini 3/28) vs Delhi 1st innings 37/0 (Shikhar Dhawan 29).
Panchal hits unbeaten ton as Gujarat pile 246/3 against Mumbai
Hubli:Gujarat rode on opener Priyank Kirit Panchal's unbeaten century to post an impressive 246/3 in their Group A Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai on Monday.
Panchal struck 122 off 256 balls and found the fence 17 times during his knock after Gujarat opted to bat at KSCA Rajnagar Stadium.
Skipper Parthiv Patel failed to impress, getting dismissed for 12.
Panchal's opening partner Samit Gohel made 87 off 207 deliveries, and the two added 172 runs to lay the foundation for a big total.
Gohel struck 11 boundaries and two sixes, before getting out 13 runs short of a century.
At the close of play on the first day, Manpreet Juneja (22) was giving Panchal company.
Vishal Dabholkar (2/61) was the most successful bowler for Mumbai, while there was a wicket for Aditya Dhumal, as Gujarat took the honours against their fancied opponents on the opening day.
Mumbai's star seam bowlers Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur went wicketless.
Bhille hits ton as Railways produce commanding batting display
New Delhi: Nitin Bhille hit an unbeaten 102 while opener Saurabh Wakaskar (62) and Arindam Ghosh (61 not out) struck fine half-centuries to help Railways end Day 1 at a comfortable 249 for two against Madhya Pradesh in a Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, Wakaskar and Shivakant Shukla (17) got Railways off to a decent start, adding 50 runs for the opening stand.
After Shukla's dismissal, Wakaskar and Bhille shared 67 runs for the second wicket to take Railways forward.
But Wakaskar was the next to depart when he fell LBW to Ankit Sharma. He faced 116 runs and struck seven boundaries in the process.
Thereafter, Bhille and Ghosh ensured no further damage to Railways, stitching unconquered 132 runs for the third wicket to take their team to a comfortable position at stumps on the opening day of the four-day match.
Bhille's knock came off 207 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and one six, while Ghosh struck five fours during his 162-ball stay at the crease.
Brief Scores:
Railways: 249 for two in 90 overs (Nitin Bhille 102 not out, Saurabh Wakaskar 62, Arindam Ghosh 61 not out; Saransh Jain 1/40).
Jackson hits ton before Vidarbha restrict Saurashtra to 301
New Delhi: Sheldon Jackson struck a fine century before Vidarbha bowlers made a strong comeback to restrict Saurashtra to 301 in their first innings on Day 1 of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match.
Jackson made 116 off 149 balls striking 15 boundaries and two sixes, while Chirag Jani scored 78 off 117 balls to form the base for Saurashtra's total after being sent into bat at the Karnail Singh Stadium.
Jani struck 11 boundaries and one hit over the fence during his 117-ball knock.
Apart from the duo, opener Snell Patel made 40 Prerak Mankad scored 28.
For Vidarbha, right-arm pacer Rajneesh Gurbani picked up four wickets giving away 85 runs, while Lalit Yadav (2/66) and Akshay Wakhare (2/68) shared four wickets between them.
At stumps, Vidarbha were four for no loss with openers and still trail Saurashtra by 297 runs.
Brief Scores: Saurashtra: 301 all out in 86.1 overs (Sheldon Jackson 116, Chirag Jani 78; Rajneesh Gurbani 4/85) vs Vidarbha: 4 for no loss in one over.
Odisha dismiss Karnataka for 179, reach 42-2 in Ranji
New Delhi: Seamer Basant Mohanty snapped three wickets as Odisha dismissed Karnataka for 179 and then reached 42-2 in first innings at stumps on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match on Monday.
As many as 12 wickets fell at the Palam A Ground as Mohanty (3/46) and Biplab Samantaray (2/20) took three and two wickets, while Suryakant Pradhan (1/46), Alok Mangaraj (1/22) and Dhiraj Singh (1/31) accounted for one wicket to wrap up Karnataka's first innings within 200.
Wicket-keeper batsman C M Gautam was the top-scorer for Karnataka, scoring a 84-ball 54, laced with eight hits to the fence. He was the last batsman to be dismissed, caught by Mohanty off Dhiraj's bowling in the 67th over.
Opener Ravikumar Samarth (26), No. 3 Robin Uthappa (23) and Krishnappa Gowtham (21) were the other contributors for Karnataka.
In reply, Odisha batted for 18 overs, scoring 42 for two. Govinda Poddar (16) and Dhiraj Singh (0) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn.
Opener Sandeep Pattanaik (18) was caught by Samarth off Arvind Sreenath and Ranjit Singh (6) was run out by Ronit More.
Earlier, Karnataka scored the first fifty in 21.6 overs losing the wicket of opener Mayank Agarwal (4). But the next fifty runs cost them five more wickets as they were 103-6 in 44 overs.
Karnataka reached 166/8 in 54.4 overs, losing two more wickets, at tea.
Brief Scores: Karnataka 1st Innings: 179 allout in 66.2 overs (CM Gautam 54; Basant Mohanty 3/46) vs Odisha 1st innings: 42-2 in 18 overs (Sandeep Pattanaik 18; Arvind Sreenath 1/9).
TN restrict Punjab to 241/6 on day 1
Nagpur: Punjab were 241/6 on the first day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu.
At stumps, Gitansh Khera and Sandeep Sharma were batting on 22 and 4 respectively. Opener Manan Vohra top-scored for Punjab with a knock of 73 off 111 balls, while the experienced Uday Kaul contributed 56 off 162 balls.
Vohra struck 12 boundaries, while Kaul found the fence five times.
After Punjab elected to bat, they were given a solid start by Vohra and Jiwanjot Singh (30), who put on 97 runs for the first wicket.
However, Punjab lost openers in quick succession, and it was then left to Kaul to hold the innings together at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.
Middle-order batsman Mandeep Singh failed to open his account, skipper Gurkeerat Singh got out after making 27, while Mayank Sidhana was dismissed for 18.
For Tamil Nadu, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh was the most successful bowler with figures of 3/89.
Maharashtra reach 352-5 against Assam on day 1 in Ranji Trophy
Chennai: Kedar Jadhav hit a brilliant century and Naushad Shaikh missed his ton by a whisker as Maharashtra produced a solid batting display to amass 352-5 against Assam at stumps on the first day of their Group B Ranji Trophy.
Kedar blasted a quick-fire 115 of 106 balls (136min, 15x4, 3x6) and Naushad made 97 (12x4) as the duo put on 183 runs of 32 overs for the third wicket.
Electing to bat, openers Swapnil Gugale (50, 8x4) and Murtaza Trunkwala (22) put on 54 runs before the latter was dismissed by off-spinner Swarupam Purkayastha. Maharashtra were 83 for 2 when Swapnil made his exit.
Maharashtra then rebuilt their innings through good but cautious batting effort by Naushad and Kedar, who was caught at deep extra cover by Rahul Hazarika of the bowling of left-arm spinner J Syed Mohammed.
Later, Naushad and Ankit Bawne added 51 runs for the fourth wicket.
At close, Chirag Khurana (14) and Vishant More (9) were at the crease.
For Assam, Syed Mohammad (2/63) picked two wickets, while M K Dutta (1/78), AN Ahmed (1/55) and S Purkayastha (1/64) scalped one each.
Brief Scores: Maharashtra first innings: 352 for 5 in 90 overs (Kedar Jadhav 115, Naushad Shaikh 97; J Syed Mohammad 2/63).
Gupta, ID Singh, Partap rally J&K
Mumbai: Half centuries from Pranav Gupta, Ian Dev Singh and Aditya Partap enabled Jammu and Kashmir recover from a poor start and reach 270 for six at the end of first day's play against Tripura in a Ranji Trophy Group C match.
Gupta scored 55 with 9 fours in 112 balls, while ID Singh hit 59 with 11 fours in 105 balls as they stitched a 109-run stand to help J&K rally from 14 for two at the BKC ground.
Tripura, sitting above J&K in the points table, had rocked their rivals by taking early wickets through medium paces MB Murasingh and Rana Dutta, who packed off the in-form Shubham Khajuria and Umar Nissar cheaply.
Later ID Singh, captain Parvez Rasool and Gupta departed in the space of four overs to once again leave J&K struggling at 131 for five. However, Aditya Partap (65 not out in 157 balls) and wicketkeeper Punit Bisht (33) came to the team's rescue and the two added 50 runs for the sixth wicket.
After Bisht's dismissal, Partap got an able ally in bowler Samiullah Beigh (35 not out) and the duo strung together another crucial stand of 89 for the unbroken seventh wicket to pull J&K around again.
Brief scores: J&K 1st innings: 270 for six in 90 overs (Aditya Partap 65 batting, Ian Dev Singh 59, Pranav Gupta 55; MB Murasingh 2/59, Rana Dutta 2/61) vs Tripura.
Summarised scores of other Group C matches:
1) Kerala vs Andhra at Guwahati: Kerala 1st innings: 188 for eight in 89.5 overs (Mohammed Azharuddeen 82, Rohan Prem 42; DP Vijaykumar 6/37).
2) Chhattisgarh vs Hyderabad at Valsad:Hyderabad 1st innings: 267 for four in 88 overs (S Badrinath 134, BP Sandeep 73; Abhimanyu Chauhan 2/22).
3) Goa vs Haryana at Ghaziabad:Goa 1st innings: 197 for six in 85 overs (Snehal Kauthankar 80 batting; Harshal Patel 3/52).
4) Himachal Pradesh vs Services at Surat: Services 1st innings: 276 for four in 90 overs (Ravi Chauhan 149, Nakul Verma 113 batting; Rankaj Jaiswal 2/55).
Image: Shikhar Dhawan was at his fluent best as he struck 6 boundaries en route his unbeaten 29 against Rajasthan on Monday
Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images