Andhra Pradesh's poor fielding helped Uttar Pradesh recover through a sixth wicket unbeaten partnership of 89 between Gyanendra Pandey and Amir Khan to reach 217 for the loss of five wickets on day one of the Ranji Trophy elite match at the Rural Development Trust grounds in Ananthpur on Tuesday.
Uttar Pradesh, electing to bat first, lost both openers for just 33 runs on the board at 11.4 overs.
At this juncture, two India players Mohhammed Kaif and Suresh Raina joined hands to repair Uttar Pradesh's innings by adding 78 runs in 22.3 overs.
But both batsmen returned to the pavilion in the space of one run. Kaif played on to a delivery from Israel Raju after scoring 33 off 60 balls with six fours. Suresh Raina (42, 77 balls, 7x7) was caught in the slips by Gnaneshwara Rao off Kalyankrishna. Rizwan Shamshad did not stay long and was caught behind by Prasad off Shahabuddin.
Losing half the side for just 128, it appeared Uttar Pradesh would not reach the 200 mark in their first innings.
But Pandey and Amir Khan joined together to thwart the Andhra bowlers. Their task was made easier by the hosts' poor fielding. At least five catches were dropped, and as a result Uttar Pradesh not only recovered with an 89 run unbeaten partnership between the two batsmen, but attained a strong position.
Pandey was unbeaten with 57 runs off 160 balls with four boundaries and two mighty sixers. Wicket keeper batsman Amir Khan made 37 runs off 122 balls with four boundaries.
Scorecard
Uttar Pradesh 1st innings
S Shukla c Prasad b Raju 8
Jyoti Yadav c Gnaneswara Rao b Kalyankrishna 20
M Kaif b Raju 33
S Raina c Gnaneswara Rao b Kalyankrishna 42
R Shamshad c Prasad b Sahabuddin 6
G Pandey not out 57
Amir Khan not out 37
Extras (b 1, lb 7, w 6) 14
Total (5 wickets, 90 overs) 217
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-33, 3-111, 4-112, 5-128
Bowling: Sahabuddin 19 7 26 1 (1w), Kalyankrishna 24 6 63 2 (3w), Raju 19 5 49 2 (1w), Gnaneswara Rao 6 1 19 0 (1w), Faiq 7 0 15 0, Venugopal Rao 15 4 37 0
