Ranji: Punjab seal a draw, UP take three points

Punjab middle-order batted with resolve to eke out a draw even as Uttar Pradesh walked away with three points on the virtue of their first innings lead in their Ranji Trophy Super League match, at Mohali.

Needed to bat the whole day to save the match, Punjab trio of Karan Goel (55), Mandeep Singh (51) and Mayank Sidhana (76) showed a lot of determination while batting as they steered the side to a draw.

Starting the day at 22 for two and trailing by 220 runs, Punjab ended the day at 280 for seven.

UP had scored 596 for five in response to Punjab's 350 all out in the first innings.

Punjab lost opener Sarul Kanwar (23) after the batsman had added just one run to his overnight total, raising UP's hopes of an outright win.

However, left-handed Goel and Mandeep dug in to pull the side out of rut with a 84-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Sudeep Tyagi broke the partnership by having Mandeep caught by Parvinder Singh but Karun found another able ally in Mayank, who remained unbeaten till the end of the match.

Goel was scalped by Piyush Chawla but not before the duo had added 40 runs for the fifth wicket and then Punjab lost Bipul Sharma (19) and Gitansh Khera (10).

But Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh, who has improved as a batsman, did not let the side down as he also remained not out on 24 with Mayank.

Brief Score: Punjab 350 & 280/7 in 88 overs (Karan Goel 55, Mayank Sidhana 76 not out; P Chawla 3/84, S Tyagi 2/30).

Uttar Pradesh 1st innings: 596/5 declared

Mumbai ensure bonus points with 10-wkt victory over Railways
New Delhi: Title favourites Mumbai started off their Ranji Trophy campaign in style defeating Railways by 10 wickets in their opening Elite Group match at Karnail Singh Stadium.

A 10-wicket victory ensured a bonus point for the 39-time champions as they got six points from the encounter. The Railways following on were dismissed for 244 in their second innings leaving a target of 18 for Mumbai, which they reached without fuss.

For Railways, it was a matter of getting a point from the match by batting through the day. Lot of hopes were pinned on former UP opener Shivakant Shukla's ability to bat long hours.

However Shivakant (77) was caught by Prashant Naik off Ramesh Powar's bowling and any hopes of saving the match was gone for Railways. Shivakant hit eight boundaries and a six off during his 144-ball knock.

Skipper Sanjay Bangar (27) after his first innings half century again tried his typical stonewalling approach for near about three hours in company of Nitin Bille (34). The pair added 61 runs in 39 overs trying to bat out time.

Bangar was finally dismissed by left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla (3/29) caught by Ankit Chavan. The Railways lost their last six wickets for only 39 runs.

With enough time at their disposal, Mumbai required 4.2 overs to complete formalities as skipper Wasim Jaffer hit four boundaries in his unbeaten 19.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 483 and 20/0
Railways: 256 and 244 (Shivakant Shukla 77, N Bille 34; I Abdulla 3/29).

Bengal bowlers ensure three points vs Gujarat
Kolkata: Bengal bowlers led by India discard Ashok Dinda made a fine comeback to ensure three points for the hosts in their opening Ranji Trophy Elite Group encounter against Gujarat at the Eden Gardens.

After a wicketless third day, Dinda returned with figures of four for 87 as Gujarat were bowled out for 495 runs -- 65 runs short of Bengal's first innings total of 560. Bengal got three points by virtue of first innings lead while Gujarat got a solitary point.

It was an intriguing final day's play where Bengal bowlers especially Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda showed a lot of heart on a barren pitch after being belted by Parthiv Patel and Priyank Panchal on the previous day.

Resuming at 315 for two, Gujarat were dealt an early blow when overnight not out batsmen Rikin Chauhan (12) and veteran Neeraj Patel (9) were dismissed by Bose and Dinda respectively. From 315 for two, Gujarat slumped to 318 for four.

But Bengal bowlers suddenly went off the boil after that with Bhavik Thakker and Pratharesh Parmar settling down well to add 112 runs for the fifth wicket.

The duo notched half-centuries with Thakker hit two boundaries and one six enroute to his 57 while Parmar scored 54 from 154 balls with three fours.

Just when it looked that Gujarat were cruising along, Bose and Dinda again dealt twin blow. Thakker being caught by rival skipper Manoj Tiwary off veteran pacer's bowling.

Without any addition to the score, Sunny Patel (0) was catsled by Dinda as Gujarat slumped to 430 for six.

Brief Scores: Bengal 560/6 decl.; Gujarat 495 (P Patel 143, P Panchal 139; Dinda 4-87)

Sunny Singh prevents Delhi from recording outright victory
New Delhi: Former India colts player Sunny Singh hit 157 to help Haryana get a point against hosts Delhi in an opening round Ranji Trophy Elite Group encounter at the Roshanara ground.

Starting the day at 94 for two, Haryana batsmen led by Sunny showed dogged resistance and the lifelss Roshanara track also helped their cause as they reached 318 for eight when umpires called off the match with consent from captains.

Delhi however got three points from the match by virtue of their first innings lead of 59 runs When play was finally called off, Haryana had an overall lead of 259 runs.

Delhi started the day in right earnest with speedster Parwinder Awana trapping overnight batsman Abhimanyu Khod plumb in front. But that was the last success for Delhi for some time as Sunny along with all-rounder Sachin Rana (38) added 111 runs for the fourth wicket.

More importantly, they consumed 32.3 overs in the process shutting out any hopes that the hosts harboured of an outright win. The only chance that Delhi got during the phase was when Rana edged one off Awana which was dropped by Unmukt Chand in the slips.

Sunny in all batted for nearly six and half hours facing 269 deliveries in the process. He hit 19 boundaries and a six. The most important aspect of his batting was the responsible manner in which he approached. For someone who loves giving the ball a mighty thwack, Sunny waited patiently for the loose deliveries as he was intent in garnering a point for his team.

When he finally retired due to cramps, the match as contest was over.

Brief Scores: Haryana 293 & 318/8 (Sunny Singh 157 retd, Sachin Rana 38, Parwinder Awana 4/78). Delhi 352.

Orissa, Saurashtra fail to get a point from drawn game
Cuttack: Hosts Orissa and Saurashtra failed to get a single point from the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A that ended in a dull draw at the Barabati Stadium.

Replying to Saurashtra's massive 545, Orissa were 494 for seven when stumps were drawn on the final day. With Saurashtra failing to bowl out Orissa, both teams failed to get even a single point from the encounter.

The highlight of the Orissa innings was a career-best 209 by opener Nataraj Behera. Starting the day on 112, Behera completed his maiden double century in first-class cricket.

Along with Abhilash Mallick, he added 90 runs for the fifth wicket before Mallick (64) was caught by Sagar Jogiyani off Pratik Mehta with the scoreboard reading 336.

Behera added another 79 runs with Paresh Patel (48) for the sixth wicket before being bowled by Mehta with the score on 415.

Behera's double century contained 27 hits to the fence and two huge sixes off 501 balls during his marathon 731 minutes stay at the crease.

Even as the visitors were smelling success with Behera's exit, the Orissa middle-order frustrated the visitors with cautious batting.

Deepak Behera and Aloke Sahoo contributed to the team total with 28 and 21 runs respectively with five hits each to the fence.

For Saurashtra Pratik Mehta was the most successful bowler with two for 12 from six overs. Jaydev Unadkat bagged two wickets each giving away 82 runs while Sandeep Maniar and Ravindra Jadeja accounted for one scalp each both giving away 110 runs.
Brief Scores: Saurashtra 1st innings: 545 all out Orissa 1st innings: 494 (Nataraj Behera 209, Abhilash Mallick 64, Paresh Patel 48; PS Mehta 2/12, Jayadev Unadkat 2//82).

Baroda vs Tamil Nadu match ends in a draw
Chennai: Hosts Tamil Nadu and Baroda shared the spoils garnering two points each from the rain-affected Ranji Trophy Elite Group match that concluded at the Chepauk.

With north-east monsoon rains playing havoc, play was washed off during the first three days and only 12 overs were possible today. Baroda, opting to bat, made 38 without loss with Kedhar Devdhar (25 not out) and southpaw Aditya Waghmode (10 not out) remaining unbeaten.

In their second league match in the group, Baroda will play Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu take on Haryana (at Chennai) from November 10 to 13.

Brief Scores: Baroda 38/0 (K Devdhar 25 no)