Ranji Trophy: Sehwag fails again; Manhas, Bhatia bat well for Delhi on day 1

Sambalpur: Virender Sehwag's awful form continued but Mithun Manhas (92) and Rajat Bhatia (unbeaten 71) struck half-centuries to ensure that Delhi reach a respectable 268 for six against Odisha on day one of their Ranji trophy Group A match, here today.

Delhi's top-order came a cropper after being inserted in to bat as Sehwag failed to open his account, young Unmukt Chand managed just three runs and Gautam Gambhir (32) failed to convert a good start.

Hyderabad bowlers toil hard as Tripura score 285/2 on Day I

Sehwag, who has scored just 69 runs since the start of this Ranji season in his last six innings, became second victim of paceman Suryakant Pradhan, who is playing just his second first class game.

Pradhan got both his wickets wickets in the sixth over of the innings as he dismissed Chand in the second ball and Sehwag on the last.

Gambhir and Manhas and then added 103-runs for the third wicket to bring the innings back on track before paceman Deepak Behera broke the stand by dismissing the left-hander.

Vaibhav Rawal got a good start and out of the 40-run partnership with Manhas, he scored 35 runs. As Manhas closed in on his century Basant Mohanty dismissed the seasoned batsman. His 92 runs came off 115 balls with 18 boundaries and a six.

Rawal he too could not convert that into a substantial knock and was trapped by off-spinner Govind Poddar.

Bhatia though kept his nerves and continued to bat patiently. Delhi also lost wicket-keeper batsman Rahul Yadav (11), trapped by left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh.

Bhatia was unbeaten on 71, which came off 141 balls with the help of 11 shots to the fence. Giving him company was Varun Sood (12).

All five bowlers employed by the hosts were among wickets with Pradhan (2/91) being the best.

TN bundle out Baroda for 162 on day one

TN bundle out Baroda for 162 on day one

Chennai: Tamil Nadu had Baroda on the mat as they rode on their spinners' brilliant show to bundle out the visitors for a meagre 162 before finishing day one on five for no loss in their Group B Ranji Trophy match here today.

While debutant Rahil Shah was the pick of the bowlers with impressive figures of 26-11-49-4, R Aushik Srinivas (3/20) and M Rangarajan (3/55) chipped in with three wickets each.

Dhiren Mistry (68) was the lone batsman to make a significant contribution.

Electing to bat, Baroda could never manage to settle down and kept losing wickets at regular intervals with only four of their batsmen -- Kedar Devdhar (18), out of favour India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan (26) and Hardik Pandya (11) -- reaching the double-digit mark.

Opener Dhiren Mistry tried to consolidate the innings for a while before he offered an easy catch to R Prasanna at forward short leg off Rangarajan's bowling to fall for a well-made 68 off 154 balls, laced with eight hits to the fence.

The Baroda batsmen simply failed to get any partnership going and their innings folded in 83.5 overs.

At stumps, K Arun Karthik was unbeaten on four and Abhinav Mukund was yet to open his account.

Match was stopped due to poor light at around 4 pm and was finally called off at 4.30 pm.

Brief scores:

Baroda 1st innings: 162 all out in 83.5 overs (Dhiren Mistry 68; Rahil Shah 4/49, R Aushik Srinivas 3/20).

Tamil Nadu 1st innings: Five for no loss in 2 overs (K Arun Karthik batting 4).

Brief Scores:

Delhi 1st innings: 268 for 6 in 90 overs.(M Manhas 92, R Bhatia 71 batting; S Pradhan 2/91).

Punjab bowled out for 184 as Vidarbha take day 1 honours

Punjab bowled out for 184 as Vidarbha take day 1 honours

Mohali: Vidarbha bowlers produced a disciplined effort to bowl out Punjab for a modest 184 and take a strong grip over their Group A Ranji Trophy match here today.

By stumps on the opening day of the match at the PCA Stadium, the visitors had reached 75 for one to trail by 109 runs with nine wickets in hand.

Middle-order batsman and skipper Mandeep Singh top-scored with a strokeful 54-ball 56, but rest of the Punjab batsmen failed miserably against Shrikant Wagh and Amol Jungade, both finishing with three wickets apiece. There were also two wickets for medium pacer Sandeep Singh.

Coming in to bat at number 10, pacer V R V Singh smashed 30 off just 13 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes in the process. He was the second bes scorer in Punjab's first innings.

At the close of play, Faiz Fazal (34) Ravi Jangid (24) were batting for Vidarbha. They lost opener Akshay Kolhar for nine, the batsman getting out to Siddarth Kaul.

Sent into bat, Punjab were off to a poor start as they lost two wickets with just 16 runs on the board. Opener Jiwanjot Singh struggled to get 15 runs, facing 57 balls in 100 minutes of stay at the crease.

Taruwar Kohli was run out for 7 while Gurkeerat Singh could manage 14 before he was caught behind off the bowling of Singh.

Sandeep Sharma made 20 but it was Mandeep, who was the long bringh spot for the hosts. He smashed 12 fours during his quickfire knock.

Brief scores:

Punjab 1st innings: 184 all out in 47.4 overs (Mandeep Singh 56; Wagh 3/34, Jungade 3/63)

Vidarbha 1st innings: 75 for one in 32 overs (Faiz Fazal 34 not out, Ravi Jangid 24 not out).

Saini strikes ton in Haryana's 247 all out

Saini strikes ton in Haryana's 247 all out

Rohtak: Wicket-keeper Nitin Saini (109) smashed his fifth first class century to stand tall amid ruins as Haryana were all out for 247 against Karnataka on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match, here today.

It was a listless batting show by most of the Haryana batsmen as only Sachin Rana (36) and Avi Barot (35) resisted the Karnataka attack apart from Saini.

Saini some how managed to completed his century and was the last man out. He faced 152 balls for his 109-run knock which was studded with 14 boundaries, including three sixes.

Stuart Binny scalped three batsmen at the expense of 43 runs while Abhimanyu Mithun (2/40), HS Sharath (2/68) and Ronit More (2/57) claimed two wickets each.

Karanata were 18 for no loss in reply, with Mayank Agarwal (3) and Lokesh Rahul (10) at the crease.

It was Binny, who drew the first blood for Karnataka when he broke the 53-run stand between skipper Rahul Dewan (23) and Avi Barot.

Binny castled Barot and Sharath had the rival skipper caught behind after dismissing Sunny Singh (1). More bowled Y Tomar and in no time the hosts were 104 for four from 53 for none.

Rana and Saini then added 72 runs for the fifth wicket and when that stand was broken by Mithun, Haryana batsmen struggled to stay at the crease.

Brief Scores:

Haryana 1st innings: 247 all out in 76.5 overs.(Nitin Saini 109, Suresh Rana 36; Stuart Binny 3/43).

Tiwary hits career-best 175 to rescue Jharkhand vs Mumbai

Tiwary hits career-best 175 to rescue Jharkhand vs Mumbai

Mumbai: Hard-hitting batsman Saurabh Tiwary rescued Jharkhand with a blistering, career-best 175 not out as holders Mumbai lost the plot and allowed the visitors to escape to 262 for 8 on day one of their four-day Ranji Trophy Group A fixture here today.

Tiwary slammed eight cleanly-hit sixes and struck 15 fours to send the cocky Mumbai bowling attack scurrying for cover after the hosts, after asking Jharkhand to bat first on a Wankhede Stadium wicket having good bounce, had taken the upper hand before tea by reducing the visitors to 180 for 8.

The 23-year-old Jamshedpur-born left hander, who came in when his side was tottering at 13 for 2 in the 7th over, took the Mumbai attack by the scruff of its neck in his 304-minute knock in which he faced 212 balls. By the end of the day the home team was clueless on how to stop him or break his 82-run 9th wicket partnership with tailender Shiv Shankar Rao (5 not out in 123 minutes).

Tiwary struck beautifully as Mumbai went on the defensive by posting all the fielders on the boundary line against him and tried their best to prise out Rao at the other end without success even after bowling 64 balls to the latter.

Tiwary, who notched up his first ton of the season which bettered his previous career-best of 169, raced to his century with a single in 144 balls with 13 fours and three sixes. He then went on a six-hitting spree by carting the bowlers mainly over the leg side when they tried to bounce him out. The tall batsman, who has played for Mumbai Indians in IPL and knows Wankhede ground well, registered his tenth first class hundred after all the other top order batsmen found the going tough against the Mumbai pace and spin attack.

Medium pacer Javed Khan was the most successful bowler with 4 for 61, including the wickets of both openers Bhavin Thakker and Rameez Nemat which he secured cheaply. Fellow medium pacer Shardul Thakur and left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar bagged two wickets apiece. Mumbai were on top in the first session though Tiwary was already in his elements driving and flicking the bowling around to be unbeaten on 54 in a team score of 100 for 4 in 34 overs.

Dabholkar and Thakur sent back Bhavik and Ishant Jaggi respectively. Though Tiwary completed his century and was unbeaten on 114 in a team score of 195 for 8, the reigning champions had things well under control at this stage.

However, Mumbai's strategy was strange after tea. Instead of attacking from both ends, they targeted Rao without success as Tiwary invariably took a single off the 4th or 5th balls and the tailender stayed put. The hosts summoned the new ball at 240 for 8 when it was due, but failed to break the 9th wicket stand. Tiwary, who was fed repeatedly on the legs or was given short balls to hit for fours and sixes often, and Rao added runs at a fast clip and at stumps the hosts were at their wits' end.

Brief scores: Jharkhand 262 for 8 (Bhavik Thakar 28, Saurabh Tiwary batting 175, S S Rao batting 5; Javed Khan 4 for 61) v Mumbai.

Arindam leads Railways fightback with patient 88Arindam leads Railways fightback with patient 88

New Delhi: Former Bengal batsman Arindam Ghosh played a resilient unbeaten knock of 88 against his home state to lead Railways to a decent 210 for four on the first day of their Ranji Trophy group B match, here today.

Ghosh batted for nearly five hours as he steadied the Railway innings with a fourth-wicket partnership of 122 runs with Nitin Bhille (65) at the Jamia Millia Islamia Sports Complex Stadium.

This was after Bengal pacers Ashoke Dinda (2/63) and Shib Shankar Paul (2/30) had rocked the top order, reducing Railways to 31 for three. Poor fielding also hampered Bengal's chances as three catches were dropped -- two by reserve keeper Gitimoy basu and one by Sandipan Das.

Dinda was the unlucky bowler on two occasions while Saurashis Lahiri was unlucky on the other. Dinda removed Shivakant Shukla for nought when he edged at an away going delivery that was pouched by Gitimoy.

Karn Sharma (3) then got one to nip back in and was judged leg before by umpire off Dinda's bowling. Paul then removed Harshad Rawle (7), trapping him leg before to make it 31 for three.

After that, for 53 overs Bengal didn't get any success. Ghosh who had a measure of Bengal bowling hit shots all around the wicket. He cover drove, pulled, square drove and also ran brilliantly between the wickets.

Ghosh has hit 10 fours in his 220 ball knock. Bhille on the other hand was content playing second fiddle during his 207 ball knock that had seven boundaries.

Bhille was dropped once by Gitimoy off Saurashis's bowling. However Paul coming back in the post tea session bowled a beauty which moved away late removing the off-bail.

Mahesh Rawat (44 batting) then came in and smashed Bengal bowlers. He was dropped by Sandipan at point when he was on 16. Ghosh didn't take too many chances in the last hour as an edge during the fag end off Dinda's bowling was dropped by Gitimoy.

"A good team should take these catches which change the complexion of the game. Having said that full credit to Arindam and Bhille for playing well. The pitch also eased out by then," skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla said.

Brief scores:

Railways 1st innings: 210 for 4 in 90 overs. (Arindam Ghosh 88 batting, Nitin Bhille 65, SS Paul 2/30, Ashoke Dinda 2/63).

Rajasthan takes upper hand against MP

Rajasthan take upper hand against MP

Gwalior: Seam bowler Pankaj Singh returned with a five-wicket haul to lead a disciplined bowling attack as Rajasthan dismissed Madhya Pradesh for a mere 115 in their first innings before themselves reaching 115 for three on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match here today.

Pankaj finished with figures of 19-8-30-5, while his pace partner Rituraj Singh (3/33) took three wickets and Deepak Chahar (2/32) accounted for two at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium here.

The visitors are now just a run away from taking the first innings lead with seven wickets remaining.

Put in to bat by Rajasthan, only the top three Madhya Pradesh batsmen -- Satyam Choudhary (27), Jalaj Saxena (39) and Naman Ojha (21) -- could reach the double-digit mark.

Although the hosts got off to a decent start with the opening partnership between Choudhary and Saxena yielding 67 runs, a collapse saw MP's innings folding in just 50 overs.

In reply, Rajasthan opener Siddharth Saraf (48) and one-down batsman in skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (21) put on a solid 55 runs for the second wicket.

At close of play, Robin Bist was batting on 11 and giving him company at the other end was Ashok Menaria on 17.

Brief scores:

Madhya Pradesh 1st innings: 115 all out in 50 overs (Jalaj Saxena 39, Satyam Choudhary 27; Pankaj Singh 5/30, Rituraj Singh 3/33).

Rajasthan 1st innings: 115 for three in 31 overs (Siddharth Saraf 48; Anand Rajan 2/39).Jharkhand coach Subroto Banerjee praised young Tiwary, saying he has been the lone batsman for them in form this season. "He is in supreme form in this season. Already he has got nearly 700 runs in five matches. He got two 90s and this 175. He is scoring heavily. He missed three hundreds, because the batting is collapsing and he is the only one and at the end he is trying to get some runs," Banerjee told reporters after the play.

He also praised the number 10 batsman Rao for playing a supporting role. "S S Rao is a character. They didn't take singles that is why they are batting till now. You give him two overs. I am not saying he will get out but there are chances."

The former India fast bowler hit out at his batsmen and said they need to start performing better. "The batters should have got more runs but that is not in our hands. They have to pull their socks. (For) one player batting looked so easy. It is a good batting track. The ball will travel a bit as always in Wankhede but at the same time it is a good batting track," Banerjee said.

Khan, Mumbai's most successful bowler of the day, defended his team's strange tactics and said Tiwary was batting well and shielding the tail-ender, which made it difficult to get wickets. "They batted very well. Saurabh Tiwary faced 4 balls and was giving the strike to the other player for the last two balls. He batted well, because of that we had trouble taking wickets," he said.

Asked about the defensive field set for Tiwary when the opposition had lost eight wickets, Khan said, "he was playing strokes, so we wanted him to take the single and counter attack the other player. We were focusing on that plan. He was playing in a flow and his strokes were coming."

The medium pacer said the team missed the services of senior India bowler Zaheer Khan, who is in South Africa on national duty. "We missed him. Obviously he is a good bowler and when he is in the team the atmosphere is completely different."

'High five' for birthday boy Bhatia, HP-Kerala share honours

'High five' for birthday boy Bhatia, HP-Kerala share honours

Tellicherry (Kerala): Vishal Bhatia celebrated his birthday with a five-wicket haul to help Himachal Pradesh bowl out Kerala for 214 before the visitors struggled to 164 for five in their Group C Ranji Trophy match here today.

The left-arm spinner, who turned 32, gave himself a perfect birthday gift after Kerala opted to bat at the Conor Vayal Stadium.

Bhati picked up five 63 while lower-order batsman Vinoop Manoharan top scored for Kerala with a 71 off 105 balls. Opener V A Jagadeesh made 56 off 114 balls with the help of 5 fours and 2 sixes. Manoharan found the fence 12 times during his crucial knock that he produced after coming in at number 8.

Bipul Sharma struck 53 for Himachal while P Prasanth grabbed 3/48 for the hosts.

Abhinav Bali contributed 41 for the visitors.

Brief scores:

Kerala 1st innings: 214 all out in 56.1 overs (Manoharan 71, Jagadeesh 56; Vishal Bhatia 5/63)

Himachal Pradesh 1st innings: 164/5 in 33 overs (Bipul Sharma 53; P Prasanth 3/48).

UP in command after dismissing Services for 164

UP in command after dismissing Services for 164

Ghaziabad: India discards Rudra Pratap Singh and Piyush Chawla took three wickets apiece as Uttar Pradesh took control of the proceedings dismissing minnows Services for a meagre 164 in a group B encounter of the Ranji Trophy at the Mohan Meakins Cricket ground here today.

In reply, UP reached 86 for three in 38 overs, needing another 79 runs to surpass Services' first innings total but the hosts will be aiming for an outright victory.

After winning the toss, the UP bowlers took wickets at regular intervals as none of the Services batsmen reached half-century.

The three 30-plus scores for Services came from Anshul Gupta (33, 5x4), Yashpal Singh (30, 4x4, 1x6) and Suraj Yadav (31 no).

Anshul and Yashpal who hit nine boundaries and a six in between them were guilty of throwing it away after getting set. Apart from RP and Chawla, medium pacer Amit Mishra (2/27) also dealt a couple of telling blows by removing No 3 Nakul Verma and skipper Rajat Paliwal in quick succession.

While batting, UP played cautiously as they consumed 38 overs while making 86. Mukul Dagar (25) and Digvijay Singh (36 batting), playing his first match after three years, added 44 runs for the first wicket before medium pacer Shadab Nazar induced an edge off burly Dagar's bat.

Nazar then clean bowled Mohammed Kaif (6) while seamer Nishan Singh cleaned up Prashant Gupta (4).

Brief Scores: Services 164 in 45.2 overs (Anshul Gupta 33, Yashpal Singh 30, RP Singh 3/38, Piyush Chawla 3/62).

UP 86/3 (Digvijay Singh 36 batting, Mukul Dagar 25, Shadab Nazar 2/23).

Jamaluddin scores 90 as Assam reach 236/8

Jamaluddin scores 90 as Assam reach 236/8

Guwahati: Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad struck an unbeaten 90 as Assam reached 236/8 in their Group C Ranji Trophy match against Goa here today.

The 30-year-old batsman made his runs off 171 balls and hit 14 fours. Gokul Sharma made 46 off 157 balls after Goa opted to bowl at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.

For Goa, Harshad Gadekar was the most successful bowler, picking up four wickets.

Brief scores:

Assam 1st innings: 236/8 in 90 overs (Jamaluddin 90 not out; Gadekar 4/28).