Jaffer slams 50th first class ton to rescue Mumbai

Mumbai: Seasoned opener Wasim Jaffer cracked his 50th century in first class cricket to rally champions Mumbai from a difficult situation on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash against fellow-state rivals Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium here today.

The lanky Jaffer remained unbeaten on 133 at stumps after batting right thorough the day and guiding the 40-time champions from a precarious 39 for 3 to a close of play first innings total of 254 for 8.

The 35-year-old former India batsman showed immense patience and tenacity even as wickets fell from the other end. But for his 393-minute vigil, the hosts, who were asked to take first strike, would have folded up for a meagre score.

There were only two significant partnerships for Mumbai, who were rocked by the initial three-wicket burst by medium pacer Sandeep Singh whose victims included South Africa-bound Ajinkya Rahane who was caught in the slip cordon for one run.

Jaffer, who faced 261 balls and struck 13 fours and a six to remain unconquered with tailender Vishal Dabholkar (0), put on 64 runs for the fourth wicket in 98 balls with Abhishek Nayar (27) before the latter was bowled round his legs by off spinner Akshay Wakhre who grabbed 2 for 65.

Later the opener added 58 in 111 balls with Shardul Thakur (26) who was one of three victims snapped up by Rajasthan-born Vidarbha left arm spinner Ravi Jangid.

It was Jaffer's 34th hundred in Ranji Trophy and his tally of 50 hundreds in first class cricket includes five in Tests.

Vidarbha opted for the second new ball towards close after 87 overs but neither South Africa-bound Umesh Yadav, who went wicketless after six spells, nor Sandeep Singh could break through the ninth wicket stand which was worth 27 runs.

Yadav bowled six overs in his first spell and then was used in short bursts of three overs without success and the best bowler on view on a wicket that offered some bounce and movement was 32-year-old Sandeep who finished with 3 for 29.

Speaking to the reporters after the end of the day's play, Jaffer said his team has recovered well now in a good position to call the shots.

"We are in a good position though we would have liked it to be something like 270-6. It was a good recovery," he said.

Satisfied with his day's rescue work, Jaffer said the team's batsmen knew that the first session would be a tricky one with the ball seaming around a bit.

"It feels good to score a century. Someone had to stand there and make runs. Happy to have compiled my 50th first class hundred. The first session was very trying. We needed to hang around. There was not a big partnership at all but at the end of the day we are happy.

"They bowled well in the first session and the ball was seaming around and it was a very criticial period. We knew once we played out the first session the wicket will ease out.

"A few bad shots were played, but they will learn with time. The wicket was not doing much after the first session and at end of the day we have recovered well," he emphasised.

Asked about whether Umesh Yadav's pace has fallen a bit after his comeback from a serious back injury, Jaffer said it was the first time he had faced him and cannot make a comparison.

"He bowled all right. I have not played him before today and cannot compare," he said.

"Sandeep bowled all right. He does not have pace but swings the ball and bowls to his strength," he noted about Vidarbha's most impressive bowler of the day.

Brief Scores: Mumbai 254 for 8 (Wasim Jaffer 133 not out; V Dabholkar 0 not out; Sandeep Singh 3 for 29, Ravi Jangid 3 for 48).

Mithun takes six-for as Karnataka bowl out Odisha for 226Mithun takes six-for as Karnataka bowl out Odisha for 226

Cuttack: Karnataka had Odisha on the mat as they rode on Abhimanyu Mithun's six-wicket haul to bundle the hosts out for a meagre 226 before themselves finishing day one on 22 for no loss in their Group A Ranji Trophy match here today.

Abhilash Mallick (98) was the lone batsman to make significant contribution, besides putting on important partnerships with the tailenders, even as Odisha crumbled in face of the disciplined bowling by Karnataka.

While Mithun finished with impressive figures of six for 52, Abrar Kazi (2/38) chipped in with two, and Sreenath Aravind (1/54) and HS Sharath (1/58) took wicket apiece.

Put in to bat, Odisha could never manage to settle down and kept losing wickets at regular intervals to be reeling at 66 for seven at one stage.

But just when it seemed that Odisha's innings would fold for less than 100 runs, Mallick came to the team's rescue.

He played with a lot of responsibility, besides putting on two important 50-plus partnerships with the tailenders.

Single-handedly Mallick bailed the team out of trouble as he scored a brilliant 98 off 122 balls, laced with 16 fours and a six. He spent 158 minutes in the middle.

He also put on a 54-run stand for the eighth wicket with Alok Sahoo (14), followed by another crucial 52 runs with Basant Mohanty (19 not out) for the ninth wicket.

Mohanty then coupled with last man, Suryakant Pradhan (34) to put on 54 runs together for the 10th wicket and ensure the team cross the 200-run mark.

At stumps, Karnataka openers -- Robin Uthappa (6 not out) and Mayank Agarwal (11 not out) -- were at the crease.

Brief scores:

Odisha 1st innings: 226 all out in 71.1 overs (Abhilash Mallick 98, Suryakant Pradhan 34; Abhimanyu Mithun 6/52).

Karnataka 1st innings: 22 for no loss in 4 overs (Mayank Agarwal batting 11).

Vikram takes five-for as Punjab bowl out Haryana for 163

Vikram takes five-for as Punjab bowl out Haryana for 163

Rohtak: Paceman VRV Singh wreaked havoc with a five-wicket haul as Punjab bundled out Haryana for a mere 163 on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A match at Bansi Lal cricket stadium, here today.

However, Punjab could not make the most of the advantageous situation as they lost three wickets for 50 in reply at the end of the day.

Experienced left-hander Uday Kaul (9) and night watchman Sandeep Sharma (0) will resume Punjab innings tomorrow.

Haryana's decision to bat backfired as India discard Vikarm and his pace colleague Sandeep Sharma shared eight wickets between them to bowl out the hosts for a mere 163.

It was Sandeep who rattled the top-order and then Vikram polished off the middle and lower order.

For Haryana, opener Avi Barot (65) scored a half-century but their middle-order crumbled in the face of some disciplined bowling.

It was a decent if not superb start for Haryana as Barot and Abhimanyu Khod (21) added 48 runs for the first wicket before latter was run out. One-down Sunny Singh was out first ball, caught behind off Sandeep.

Rahul Dalal (18) had sort of stabilised the innings with Barot but Sandeep struck again and had him leg before. Barot too fell, becoming first victim of Vikram. And in no time, the hosts were 113 for four.

After that only two batsmen -- stumper Nitin Saini (29) and Jayant Yadav (11) -- managed to get into double-digit scores and their innings fell like a house of cards.

Haryana lost last six wickets for addition of 50 runs.

Punjab lost both the openers Jiwanjot Singh (8) and R Inder Singh (22) along with skipper Mandeep Singh (2) as Haryana fought their way back in the match.

Brief Scores:

Haryana 1st innings: 163 all out in 50.1 overs.(A Barot 65, Nitin Saini 29; Vikram Singh 5/38, Sandeep Sharma 3/61).

Punjab 1st innings: 50 for 3 in 19 overs.(R Inder Singh 22; S Budhwar 1/2).

Arindam scores century as Bengal reach 242/3 vs Services

Arindam scores century as Bengal reach 242/3 vs Services

New Delhi: Veteran opener Arindam Das scored an unbeaten century as Bengal managed a decent 242 for three at stumps on the first day of their fifth round Ranji Trophy match against Services at the Airforce Ground, Palam here.

Arindam batted through the day to remain unconquered on 139 as he shared a 129-run opening stand with left-hander Rohan Banerjee, who made a sedate 42.

Arindam faced 260 balls during the day in which he hit 11 fours and a big six of offie Koteshwar Rao.

The opening stand lasted for nearly 55 overs before a freak run out ended Banerjee's stay at the wicket. He faced 169 balls and hit four boundaries.

The day belonged to Arindam who batted with a lot of caution.

He was patient to wait for the loose deliveries. A couple of cover drives off Irfan Khan and a straight drive off Suraj Yadav were the stand out shots. The 100 came off 186 balls with a deft late cut off Irfan to deep thirdman boundary.

This is his second century of the season and 10th of his career. Once he reached the century, Arindam asked the scoreboard operator to take off his scores.

"I just got out after scoring 100 in the match against Madhya Pradesh. It was a kind superstition that I would get out. I am happy with the score. We need to get to 450 at least. The pitch is getting lower and slower and there will be a bit more turn," Arindam told reporters after the end of day's play.

Subhamoy Das (23) supported Arindam well for a 70-run stand but got out to a rank long hop from leg spinner Prateek Desai. He tried to pull the ball and it trickled down to the stumps.

Wriddhiman Saha (21) got a raw deal when he was adjudged leg before to a delivery from Irfan that pitched well outside off stump.

Chairman of the national selection committee, Sandeep Patil, was present at the ground today but left before Saha got out at the fag end of the day.

In the morning before the start of the match, Bengal captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla was felicitated by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) treasurer Biswarup Dey for becoming the first cricketer from the state to complete 100 Ranji Trophy matches.

Shukla was presented with a decorated 'pagdi' along with a shawl and an autographed bat by his Bengal teammates.

Brief Scores: Bengal 242 for 3 in 90 overs (Arindam Das 139 batting, Rohan Banerjee 42; Irfan Khan 1/57, Prateek Desai 1/27) vs Services.

Jharkhand post 194 for five on day one

Jharkhand post 194 for five on day one

Jamshedpur: Rameez Nemat and Saurabh Tiwary scored a half-century each as Jharkhand reached 194 for five at the end of the first day's play of their Ranji Trophy Group A match against Gujarat here today.

While Nemat hit 78 off 246 balls, studded with 12 boundaries, Tiwary scored an unbeaten 75 off 213 deliveries with the help of seven fours and a six.

Jharkhand were dealt early blows after they elected to bat, as opener Bhavin Thakkar (14) and one-down batsman Ishank Jaggi (1) were dismissed cheaply.

But other opener Nemat, in the able company of Tiwary consolidated the innings.

The duo put on a solid 135-run stand together for the third wicket before Nemat got out.

Nemat's dismissal triggered a mini collapse as Jharkhand lost two more wickets in quick succession to be struggling at the end of the opening day's play.

For Gujarat, Jasprit Bumrah claimed two for 51, while Akshar Patel (1/26) and Rakesh Dhurv (1/50) took wicket apiece.

Brief scores:

Jharkhand 1st innings: 194 for five in 89.3 overs (Rameez Nemat 78, Saurabh Tiwary batting 75; Jasprit Bumrah 2/51) vs Gujarat.

Andhra 232/3 against Maharashtra

Andhra 232/3 against Maharashtra

Cuddapah: Openers Prasanth Kumar and Sirkar Bharat scored half-centuries and guided Andhra to a comfortable 232 for three in their Group C Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra here today.

Bharat struck a fluent 82 off 113 balls, laced with 11 fours and two sixes, while Prasanth made a laborious 86 off 188 deliveries after the visitors were put into bat at the YS Raja Reddy Stadium.

At stumps on the opening day, Bodapati Sumanth was batting on 24 while former Mumbai veteran Amol Muzumdar was on six.

Andhra were off to a good start with the openers putting on 122 runs.

For Maharashtra, Domnic Joseph picked up two wickets.

Brief scores: Andhra 232/3 in 80 overs (Prasanth 86, Bharat 82; Dominic 2/45).

Pacers shine as Rajasthan bowl out UP for 226

Pacers shine as Rajasthan bowl out UP for 226

Jaipur: Pace duo of Aniket Choudhary (4/45) and Deepak Chahar (3/63) shared seven wickets between them as Rajasthan bowled out Uttar Pradesh for 226 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match, here today.

The hosts won the toss and kept striking at regular interval to reduce Uttar Pradesh to 159 for eight. UP owed their respectable total to number 10 batsman Imtiaz Ahmed, who struck a fighting unbeaten 43 and 53 runs for the last wicket with paceman RP Singh (17).

Paceman Pankaj Singh also took two wickets to aid his team bowl out the visitors on day one itself.

However, Rajasthan did not have a good start as they lost opener Vineet Saxena, who was caught by Mukul Dagar off Amit Mishra, with no score on board.

Parvinder Singh was top scorer for Uttar Pradesh with his patient 46-run knock, which came off 126 balls with six boundaries.

Skipper Mohmmed Kaif' (5) run out did not help the cause of the visitor.

Opener Tanmay Srivastava (23) and Arish Alam (26) got starts but could not stay for long at the crease.

Brief Scores:

Uttar Pardesh 1st innings: 226 all out in 85.3 overs. (Parvider Singh 46, Arish Alam 26; A Choudhary 4/45, D Chahar 3/63).

20 wickets fall on day 1 as Baroda lead by 101 runs20 wickets fall on day 1 as Baroda lead by 101 runs

Vadodara: A staggering 20 wickets fell on the first day of the Group B Ranji Trophy match between Baroda and Madhya Pradesh here today, with the 2000-01 season winners having already started their second innings by close of play.

Batting first, the hosts could manage a meagre 152 in their first innings, but fought back strongly to bundle Madhya Pradesh out for 60.

Baroda were nine for no loss in their second innings, thereby extending their lead to 101 runs with all the wickets intact and three full days to go.

On a day when the bowlers, led by MP's Jalaj Saxena's 6/42, called the shots, Abhimany Chauhan stood out with a dogged 58 off 141 balls. Chauhan was an aberration as he found the fence 10 times.

Even as none of the Madhya Pradesh batsmen could reach the 20s, Ketul Patel (4/9) and out-of-favour India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan (4/17) were among the wickets for Baroda.

Brief scores:

Baroda 152 (Abhimanyu Chauhan 58; Jalaj Saxena 6/42) and 9 for no loss vs Madhya Pradesh 1st innings 60 all out (Patel 4/9, Yusuf 4/17).

Himachal Pradesh take 118-run lead over Assam

Himachal Pradesh take 118-run lead over Assam

Dharamsala: Seam bowler Rishi Dhawan returned with a five-wicket haul to lead a disciplined bowling attack as Himachal Pradesh dismissed Assam for a meagre 81 in their first innings before themselves reaching 199 for four on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group C match here today.

Skipper Dhawan led from the front with figures of 13-5-29-5, while his pace partner V S Malik (3/24) took three wickets and Akshay Chauhan (2/23) accounted for two at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium here.

Himachal have already taken 118 runs first innings lead with six wickets remaining.

For Assam, only three batsmen -- Niraj Patel (17), J Syed Mohammad (17) and Dheeraj Jadhav (13) -- reached the double digits after they were put in to bat.

The visitors innings folded in just 32.5 overs.

In reply to Assam's first innings score, Himachal batsmen batted with a lot of responsibility and almost everyone in the top and middle order contributed to the team's cause.

Although all of them wasted their good starts as they lose their wickets after reaching 30s and 40s.

At stumps, Nikhil Gangta was unbeaten on 43 and giving him company at the other end was Rishi Dhawan on 36.

Brief scores:

Assam 1st innings: 81 all out in 32.5 overs (Niraj Patel 17, J Syed Mohammad 17; Rishi Dhawan 5/29, VS Malik 3/24).

Himachal Pradesh: 199 for four in 56 overs (Nikhil Gangta batting 43, Sangram Singh 40, Prashant Chopra 39, Paras Dogra 38).