Ranji Roundup: Sidhu's maiden fifty rescues Delhi

A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday

Youngster Jonty Sidhu slammed a gritty 85, his maiden half-century, to help Delhi recover from a jittery start and post a modest 240 against Bengal in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Sunday.

Opting to bat, Delhi wilted under some fiery bowling by pacer Ashok Dinda, who claimed the top three en route to four for 62, to reduce the visitors to 73 for five in the first session.

But the lanky left-hander Sidhu, playing only his second first-class match, batted with tremendous resolve as he rebuilt the innings with Shivam Sharma (42).

As the wicket eased out in the second session, Bengal struggled to break the partnership and the duo added 96 runs for the sixth wicket before skipper Manoj Tiwary gave the breakthrough in a freak dismissal before tea.

Everything was going at ease for Delhi before Sharma was tempted by a widish full toss and miss hit at cover region where Pradipta Pramanik took a low diving catch to his right.

Bengal bounced back in the final session to dismiss the resistance of Sidhu, who was cleaned up by part-time off-spinner Writtick Chatterjee with a quicker one.

"It's really an important knock for me. Maiden half-century in Ranji Trophy. I'm however not satisfied as I missed out on a hundred. I'm really sad. I did all the hardwork but missed the milestone," said Sidhu, who made his Ranji debut in Gautam Gambhir's swansong match against Andhra.

A former India U-19 captain who led Delhi's U-23 side, Sidhu said his immediate target is to cement his place in the side.

"For me, it's about cementing my place in the side. I was just concentrating on the ball not looking at the scorecard," the left-handed batsman said.

Asked whether 240 would be enough, he said: "It all depends on how we bowl. There's a bit of help for the medium pacers."

Dinda was the pick of the bowlers for Bengal as the pacer castled Kunal Chandela in the fourth ball of the day with Delhi yet to open their account.

Dinda next trapped last match's centurion Anuj Rawat (7) before Aamir Gani dismissed skipper Nitish Rana (21).

The ball kept swinging in the early morning moisture and Dinda made most of it and claimed the other opener Hiten Dala (23) to have Delhi reeling at 62 for four inside the first hour.

"The ball was moving a lot in the morning. Wicket eased out in the second session. We managed to bundle them out. It's a good show by the entire bowling unit," Dinda said.

Brief Scores:

Delhi: 240 all out in 83.3 overs (Jonty Sidhu 85, Shivam Sharma 42; Ashok Dinda 4/62) vs Bengal.

Jaffer slams century as Vidarbha take honours against Mumbai

Veteran Wasim Jaffer slammed a century to propel hosts Vidarbha to an imposing 389 for 4 againstMumbai on the opening day of their Elite Ranji Trophy Group A game in Nagpur.

It was business as usual for 40-year-old Jaffer as he made 178 in 196 balls against his former team at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.

The right-handed batsman completed his 56th first-class century in the process.

Jaffer and one down Atharva Taide (95 in 128 balls) justified Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal's decision to bat first as they took Mumbai bowlers to task.

After in-form Fazal (1) had a rare failure, Jaffer and Taide steadied the Vidarbha ship by conjuring a massive 199-run stand for the second wicket.

Mumbai used as many as eight bowlers in the day but barring Dhurmil Matkar (3-92) all others had an off day.

Mumbai's hopes were pinned on pace duo of Shardul Thakur (1-68) and Tushar Deshpande (0-57), who were returning to cricket after injuries, but they could not deliver.

Jaffer struck 22 fours and two sixes in his 196-ball knock.

While the veteran batsman brought up his hundred in just 85 balls, he completed his 150 in 161 balls.

After Taide fell, Jaffer and Ganesh Satish (77 not out) took the hosts ahead.

However, Jaffer could not complete a deserving double hundred, getting caught by wicket-keeper Aditya Tare off Dhurmil Matkar.

At stumps Satish and M R Kale (33 not out) were holding fort as Vidarbha is looking poised for a big first innings score.

41-time Ranji champions Mumbai need outright win to stay alive in the coveted domestic tournament.

At Pune, hosts Maharashtra were bundled out for 230 by Gujarat with middle order batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad top scoring with 70.

Skipper Rahul Tripathi chipped in with a valuable 62. At close of play, Gujarat were 41/0, still adrift by 189 runs.

Krunal Pandya struck 160 as visitors Baroda reached 289 for 6 againstRailways at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi.

At Alur near Bengaluru, hosts Karnataka rode on centuries by opener Dega Nischal (107 not out) and Siddharth K V (105) to reach a comfortable 273 for 4 against Chhattisgarh.

Brief Scores: At Nagpur: Vidarbha 389 for 4 (Wasim Jaffer 178, Atharva Taide 95, Ganesh Satish 77 not out, Dhurmil Matkar 3-92) versus Mumbai.

At Pune : Maharashtra 230 all out (Ruturaj Gaikwad 70, Rahul Tripathi 62, C T Gaja 5-57, Piyush Chawla 3-39) versus Gujarat 41/0. Gujarat trail by 189 runs.

At Alur (Karnataka): Karnataka 273 for 4(Dega Nischal 107 not out, Siddharth K V 105, Manish Pandey 40, Pankaj Rao 4-38) versus Chhattisgarh.

At New Delhi (Karnail Singh Stadium): Baroda 289/6(Krunal Pandya 160, Mitesh Patel 55 not out, Amit Mishra 4-65) versus Railways. PTI NRB

Nischal, Siddharth put Karnakata in command against Chhattisgarh

Opener Dega Nischal and Krishnamurthy Siddharth hit twin centuries to put Karnataka in the driver's seat, piling up 273 for four against Chhattisgarh on the opening day of a Group A Ranji Trophy match at Alur.

Nischal, who has been in top form and highest run-getter for Karnataka this season, was batting on 107 and giving him company was Shreyas Gopal on eight at the draw of stumps.

Siddharth made 105 runs of 189 balls, before he was trapped leg before by Pankaj Rao. He had belted eleven boundaries and two sixes in his blistering innings.

In contrast, Nischal played a patient knock, facing 241 balls for his unbeaten 107 which was laced with seven boundaries.

For Chhattisgarh, pacer Pankaj Rao was the star bowler as he picked up all the four wickets that fell on the first day.

Sent into bat, Karnataka lost two quick wickets with opener Devdutt Paddikal dismissed for naught and Liyan Khan making only nine.

Paddikkal lost his wicket after was caught by Harpreet Singh, while Khan was out leg before the wicket. Both wickets were picked up by Rao.

Siddharth and Nischal then put on 163 runs partnership for third wicket to take Karnataka to a formidable position.

After Siddharth's departure, Nischal stitched a handy 73-run partnership with captain Manish Pandey, who scored 40 runs off 61 balls, which was decorated with five boundaries.

Pandey departed the scene after Ajay Mandal took the catch on Rao's delivery.

Brief scores: 273/4 in 90 overs (Dega Nischal 107 not out, Krishnamurthy Siddharth 105; Pankaj Rao 4 for 38) vs Chhattisgarh.

Half-centuries by Himalay Agarwal, Akshat prop up Hyderabad vs Andhra

Half-centuries by Himalay Agarwal (59) and captain Akshat Reddy (57) helped Hyderabad reach 226 for seven in 81.4 overs on day one of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match in Vizianagara.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Hyderabad saw opener N Tilak Varma (5) being sent back by K V Sasikanth.

Akshat, who joined opener Tanmay Agrwal, added 61 runs in quick time as they steadied the ship.

Left-arm medium pacer Y Prithvi Raj struck the second blow for Andhra, clean bowling Tanmay for 44.

Akshat was then involved in an useful 72-run stand with B P Sandeep (33) during which they mixed caution and aggression.

However, the home team struck a double blow, getting Sandeep and Akshat at 145 with Girinath Reddy and Sasikanth getting into the act.

One run later, T Ravi Teja (1) was caught by Ashwin Hebbar off Prithvi Raj and Hyderabad had slipped to 146 for five.

Himalay (59, 103 balls, 7X4, 2X6) held firm to take Hyderabad past 200, though it lost another wicket when KSK Chaitnay (6) was dismissed.

The visiting team suffered a huge blow when Himalay's enterprising knock was ended by Sasikanth to bring an early end to the day's proceedings.

Medium-pacer Sasikanth was the best bowler with figures of three for 40 while Prithvi Raj and Girinath Reddy took two wickets each.

Brief scores: Hyderabad 226 for 7 in 81.4 overs (Himalay Agarwal 59, P Akshat Reddy 57, K V Saikanth 3 for 49). Toss: Hyderabad.

At Mohali: Kerala 121 all out in 37 overs (Vishnu Vinod 35, Siddarth Kaul 6 for 55) vs Punjab 135 for 2 in 40 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 67 batting, Mandeep Singh 41 batting). Toss: Punjab.

At Indore: Madhya Pradesh 235 for 5 in 89 overs (Rajat Patidar 47, Naman Ojha 41, Arpit Guleria 2 for 36) vs Himachal. Toss: Himachal.

Rajasthan bundle out Goa for 244

Porvorim (Goa), Dec 30 (PTI) Rajasthan bowlers led by young leg spinner Rahul Chahar put up a spirited show as they bowled out Goa for 244 on the opening day of their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy game in Porvorim.

Chahar (4-86) was the pick of the bowlers and was ably supported by T M Haq (2-39) and Nathu Singh (1-40).

Opting to bat at the Goa Cricket Association Academy, the hosts lost their openers Sagun Kamat (9) and Sumiran Amonkar (6) cheaply.

Then one down Amogh Desai (44) and Amit Verma (32) tried to steady the ship with their 42-run stand.

But as the two were poised for a big score, Verma fell after being caught by Chetan Bist off Nathu Singh.

For Goa, other batsmen including Snehal Kauthankar (48), Suyash Prabhudessai (23), Darshan Misal (29) got starts but they failed to convert them to big scores as Rajasthan struck at regular intervals.

No 10 Amulya Pandrekar remained unbeaten on 36 off 66 balls to ensure that Goa neared the 250-run mark.

At close of play, Rajasthan were 20 for no loss, still adrift by 224 runs, with both their openers Amitkumar Gautam and Chetan Bist unbeaten on identical scores of 9.

Rajasthan will be aiming to take the first innings lead.

Meanwhile at Rohtak, 20 wickets fell on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group C game between Uttar Pradesh and hosts Haryana.

Haryana, who were invited to bat first were bowled out for 110 with left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar returning with career best figures of 7-33.

Uttar Pradesh managed to take a slender first innings lead after being shot out for 133.

At Guwahati, Jammu and Kashmir were able to take a slender first innings lead against hosts Assam.

It was a day when as many as 20 wickets fell.

While Assam were bowled out for 128, Jammu and Kashmir ended their first essay at 144.

At Jamshedpur, hosts Jharkhand managed to restrict Tripura to 247 for 8at close of play.

And at Palam in New Delhi, Services took the honours on day one after bundling out Odisha for 177.

Brief Scores: At Porvorim: Goa 244 all out (Snehal Kauthankar 48, Amogh Desai 44, Rahul Chahar 4-86, T M Haq 2-39) versus Rajasthan 20 for no loss. Rajasthan trail by 224 runs.

At Rohtak: Haryana 110 all out (Himanshu Rana 50, S M Pahal 19 not out, Saurabh Kumar 7-33) and 10 for no loss versus Uttar Pradesh 133 all out (Rinku Singh 43, Umang Sharma 17, Priyam Garg 17, A K Chahal 5-16, H V Patel 3-32). Haryana trail by 13 runs.

At New Delhi (Palam) Odisha 177 all out (Abhishek Raut 56, Biplab Samantaray 41, A A Bamal 4-61) versus Services 2 for no loss. Services trail by 175 runs.

At Jamshedpur: Tripura 247 for 8 (U U Bose 44, Rajib Saha 43 not out, Rahul Shukla 3-38, Anukul Roy 2-36) versus Jharkhand.

At Guwahati: Assam 128 all out (Mrinmoy Dutta 35 not out, Mukthair Hussain 24, Umar Nazir 3-31) and 6 for no loss versus Jammu and Kashmir 144 all out (Qamran Iqbal 64, Irfan Pathan 35, Mukthair Hussain 5-39, Arup Das 3-52). Assam trail by 10 runs.