Seamers Shivam Dube (4/10) and Royston Dias (3/35) powered Mumbai's outright win over Bihar by an innings and 51 runs in their Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season opener in Patna on Monday.
Bihar's fate was decided on the third day evening itself when they were reduced to 91/6 following-on, having made 100 in their first innings in reply to Mumbai's 251, with Mohit Avasthi returning 6/27.
Bihar could not manage a run more than that in their second attempt and lost heavily as Mumbai walked away with seven points.
Dube, who was named in India's squad for three T20Is against Afghanistan, celebrated his call-up with a superb 11-4-10-7 after 6-3-13-2 in the first innings.
In another game, Chhattisgarh also clinched an outright win and seven points following a 10-wicket hammering of Assam, for whom Riyan Parag produced a record century.
Parag cracked 12 sixes and 11 fours to make 155 from 87 balls for the second fastest century in the Ranji Trophy history, but his outstanding effort had no say in the outcome.
Chhattisgarh, who made 327 in the first innings, bowled out Assam for 159 in reply and Parag's ton could only take his side to 254 in the second essay.
Chhattisgarh remained unscathed in their 87-run chase.
However, at Visakhapatnam, Ricky Bhui's marathon 347-ball 175 (23x4s, 1x6s) helped Andhra force a draw against Bengal who made 409 batting first.
Bhui's ton, combined with fifties from Hanuma Vihari (51) and Shoaib Khan (56) took Andhra to 445 in reply with a slender 36-run first-innings lead, thus giving them three points from the tame draw in which Bengal reached 87/1 in their second essay.
At Alapuzzha, visitors Uttar Pradesh walked off with a draw and three points against hosts Kerala in a hard-fought contest.
UP took a 59-run lead in the first innings, for they dismissed Kerala at 243 after posting 302.
In the second innings, Priyam Garg (106) followed Aryan Juyal (115) in completing a three-figure mark as UP declared at 323/3, taking an overall lead of 382 runs.
In reply, Kerala were 72/2.
Brief scores:
At Patna: Mumbai 251 beat Bihar 100 & 100 (Sharman Nigrodh 40; Shivam Dube 4/10, Royston Dias 3/35) by an innings and 51 runs.
At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 327 & 87/0 (Eknath Kerkar 31*, Rishabh Tiwari 48*) beat Assam 159 & 254 (Riyan Parag 155; Vashudev Bareth 3/59, Jivesh Butte 3/37) by 10 wickets.
At Visakhapatnam: Bengal 409 & 82/1 (Sourav Paul 30*; Shoaib Md Khan 1/16) drew with Andhra 445 (Hanuma Vihari 51, Ricky Bhui 175, Shoaib Khan 56; Mohammed Kaif 3/62).
At Alappuzha: Uttar Pradesh 302 & 323/3d (Aryan Juyal 115, Priyam Garg 106; Basil Thampi 1/30) drew with Kerala 243 & 72/2 (Rohan Kunnummal 42; Kuldeep Yadav 1/19).
Karnataka cruise to seven-wicket win
Karnataka cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Punjab in a one-sided Group C match in Hubballi on Monday to begin their Ranji Trophy campaign on a rousing note.
Rohit Kumar (3/101) and Shubhang Hegde (3/89) toiled hard but kept chipping away at the wickets as Punjab, who resumed the fourth and final day's play at 238 for 3 with another 124 runs in arrears, were bundled out for 413.
Karnataka were in the driver's seat for major part of the match.
Having bowled out Punjab for a modest 152 in the first innings, Karnataka replied with a massive 514 for 8 declared.
Punjab got their act together and replied with 413 in their second innings, having conceded a lead of 362.
A 146-ball 100 from Prabhsimran Singh was the highlight of Punjab's second innings and Karnataka were kept on the field for almost 115 overs. But in the end, Punjab could only manage a slender 51-run overall lead.
Karnataka then made 52/3 to win by a big margin.
Gujarat beat Tamil Nadu by 111 runs
In another Group C game at Valsad, Gujarat trounced Tamil Nadu by 111 runs to add six points to their kitty.
Tamil Nadu, who resumed the fourth day's proceedings at 32 for 2 in their daunting chase of 299, were shot out for a mere 187.
Arzan Nagwaswalla (4/34) was the pick of the Gujarat bowlers while India spinner Ravi Bishnoi (1/57) also chipped in.
Tamil Nadu skipper Sai Kishore (48 off 108 balls), Baba Indrajith (39 from 89) and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (39 not out off 104) were only able to delay the inevitable.
Big win for Tripura over Goa
Goa wicketkeeper-batter Krishnamurthy Siddharth struck 151 not out (258 balls, 23x4) but his knock went in vain as Tripura completed a huge 237-run win in Agartala.
Chasing 500 to win after Tripura piled up 484 and 151 for 5 declared, Goa, who were bowled out for 135 in their first innings, made 263 in the second essay.
Tripura bagged six points for the win.
Chandigarh vs Railways match ends in draw
Chandigarh earned one point and Railways got three after the two teams played out a draw in Chandigarh in another Group C match.
No play was possible on the third day of the match and when the play resumed on the final day on Monday, Chandigarh were all at sea with the bat again.
After a mere 96 in their first innings, Chandigarh were 90 for 5 in their second essay when the stumps were drawn. Railways had declared overnight at 313 for 4.
Brief Scores:
At Hubballi: Punjab 152 & 413 in 114.4 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 100, Abhishek Sharma 91) lost to Karnataka 514/8 decl & 52/3 (Ravikumar Samarth 21, Srinivas Sharath 21 not out; Prerit Dutta 2/10) by 7 wickets.
At Valsad: Gujarat 236 & 312 beat Tamil Nadu 250 & 187 (Sai Kishore 48, Baba Indrajith 39, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 39 not out; Arzan Nagwaswalla 4/34, Chintan Gaja 3/34, Priyajitsing Jadeja 2/37, Ravi Bishnoi 1/57) by 111 runs.
At Chandigarh: Chandigarh 96 & 90/5 (Kunal Mahajan 43 not out; Yuvraj Singh 2/21, Himanshu Sangwan 2/11) drew with Railways 313/4 decl.
At Agartala: Tripura 484 & 151 for 5 decl beat Goa 135 & 236 (Krishnamurthy Siddharth 151 not out; Manisankar Murasingh 3/64, Rana Dutta 3/45, Abhijit Sarkar 2/42).
Matthew grabs maiden five-wicket haul
Medium-pacer Abin Matthew hogged the limelight with a maiden five-wicket haul as Puducherry bowlers came up with an exceptional show to orchestrate a commanding nine-wicket win over hosts Delhi in their Ranji Trophy opener in New Delhi on Monday.
Resuming on 126/8 in their second innings, Delhi managed to add 19 more runs before being bowled out for 145.
Mathew claimed a career best 5/39 to dismantle the Delhi batting order.
Gaurav Yadav (3/49) and Saurabh Yadav (2/43) also contributed to Delhi's downfall to give them an easy 51-run chase.
In reply, Puducherry lost opener Akash Kargave (23) with seven runs shy from the target.
Jay Pande (21 not out) and Marimuthu Vikneshwaran (7 not out) then sealed the chase in the very next over.
Baroda win easy versus Odisha
Off-spinner Mahesh Pithiya's impressive five-wicket haul complemented Shashwat Rawat's stellar 102 in the second innings as hosts Baroda defeated Odisha by 147 runs in Vadodara.
Set a tall chase of 432, Odisha were bundled out for 284.
In only his fifth Ranji match, the budding 22-year-old Pithiya showcased immense skill and determination to return figures of 5/61.
Brief Scores
At Delhi: Delhi 148 and 145; 46.4 overs (Abin Mathew 5/39, Gaurav Yadav 3/49, Saurabh Yadav 2/43). Puducherry 244 and 51/1; 13.4 overs. Puducherry won by nine wickets. Points: Puducherry 6, Delhi 0.
At Vadodara: Baroda 351 and 258/4 declared. Odisha 178 and 284; 101.5 overs (Shantanu Mishra 78, Anurag Sarangi 56, Sandeep Pattnaik 51, Suryakant Pradhan 46; Mahesh Pithiya 5/61). Baroda won by 147 runs. Points: Baroda 6, Odisha 0.
At Jammu: Jammu & Kashmir 100. Himachal Pradesh 120/1. Match drawn. Points Himachal Pradesh 3, Jammu & Kashmir 1.
At Dehradun: Madhya Pradesh 323 and 243/3 declared. Uttarakhand 192 and 266/8; 95 overs (Piryanshu Khanduri 62, Aditya Tare 51, Kunal Chandela 50; Kumar Kartikeya 4/73, Saransh Jain 3/77). Match drawn. Points MP 3, Uttarakhand 1.
Suraj scores hundred but Saurashtra get three points
Kumar Suraj scored a fine hundred for Jharkhand but Saurashtra walked away with three points in their drawn Ranji Trophy Group A game in Rajkot on Monday.
Resuming day four at 140 for two, Jharkhand reached 306 for three at tea time when players of both teams decided to shake hands.
Jharkhand were dismissed for 142 on the opening day before Saurashtra amassed 578 for four to take a massive first innings lead.
Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 243 off 356 balls stood out in Saurashtra's innings. Prerak Mankad also scored 104 not out off 176 balls.
On day four, Suraj (113 not out off 261 balls) reached the three-figure mark with a six after opener Kumar Deobrat (91 off 169) could not get a hundred.
Suraj stitched an unbeaten 123-run stand with Virat Singh (51 not out off 153 balls).
In Lahli, no play was possible on day four in the game between Haryana and Rajasthan.
Only 42 overs were bowled in the game in which Haryana struggled to 100 for six. Bad light played spoilsport through the game.
Brief Scores:
At Rajkot: Jharkhand 142 in 49 overs and 306/3 in 109 overs (Kumar Deobrat 91, Kumar Suraj 113 not out; Prerak Mankad 2/27) vs Saurashtra 578/4 decl in 156 overs. Match drawn.
At Nagpur: Services 241 and 155 all out vs Vidarbha 219 and 178/3 in 56.3 overs (Sanjay Raghunath 84 not out). Vidarbha win by seven wickets.
At Rohtak: Haryana 100/6 in 52 overs vs Rajasthan. Match drawn.
