New Delhi: Centuries from Rinku Singh, Ravichandran Smaran, Yash Rathod and other standout performances from Mohammed Shami, Musheer Khan and Ravindra Jadeja highlighted the first day of Ranji Trophy first-round matches on Sunday.
While the day saw some of India’s biggest domestic and international talents and some of rising/fringe talent shine, Test match regulars KL Rahul (4) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) failed to score big for Karnataka and Mumbai, respectively.
-Elite Group A
In the elite Group A, Uttar Pradesh was put to bat first by Bihar. With UP at 85/3 at one point, centuries from Madhav Kaushik (124* in 252 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Rinku (109* in 164 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) took UP to 287/3, as the batters put on an unbeaten double-ton stand for the fourth wicket.
In the other group A clash between Vidarbha and Puducherry, Vidarbha sank to 54/5 after electing to bat first, courtesy of some fine bowling from Vijai Raja (2/47) and Gaurav Yadav (2/61). However, centuries from Yash Rathod (131* in 167 balls, with 11 fours and a six) and skipper Akshay Wadkar (112* in 225 balls, with 13 fours) took the three-time Ranji champions to 300/5 at day’s end.
The defending champions Jammu and Kashmir also had a great day at work, bundling out Madhya Pradesh for just 196, with their innings held together on a thread by skipper Shubham Sharma (79 in 174 balls, with eight fours). Rohit Sharma (5/36) and Sunil Kumar (4/69) took the lion’s share of wickets, while Auqib Nabi also got one. At the end of day’s play, J&K was 3/1, with Qamran Iqbal and Vanshaj Sharma unbeaten.
-Elite Group B
Shifting focus to Group B, Karnataka saw KL Rahul returning to Ranji action against Andhra Pradesh, but perished in single digits. With Karnataka at 22/4, skipper Smaran (126 in 218 balls, with 11 fours and a six) played a sensational knock under pressure, with a fifty coming from Krishnan Shrijith (58 in 82 balls, with three fours and three sixes). Karnataka was skittled out for just 274 runs, with Saurabh Kumar (3/69) being the top wicket-taker. AP was 16/2 to end the day, trailing by 258 runs.
Saurashtra saw Ravindra Jadeja returning to action as well against Chhattisgarh. Half-centuries from Prerak Mankad (92* in 112 balls, with 11 fours and a six), Chirag Jani (83 in 148 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) and Jadeja (72* in 154 balls, with five fours) saw Saurashtra post 308/4 at the day’s end.
-Elite Group C
Shifting focus to Group C, Mohammed Shami was in full flow against Delhi, taking 4/30 as they were skittled out for 240 runs, with standout knocks coming from Hrithik Shokeen (56 in 98 balls, with three fours and two sixes), Ayush Doseja (45 in 92 balls, with six fours) and Sarthak Ranjan (33 in 80 balls, with four boundaries). Akash Deep (2/74) was also among the wickets for Bengal.
The clash between Maharashtra and Services saw standout knocks from Prithvi (70 in 73 balls, with eight fours and a six) and Ankit Bawne (105* in 232 balls, with 11 fours and a six) as Maharashtra ended their day at 287/5.
-Elite Group D
Shifting focus to Group D, Mumbai posted 249/5 at the day end against Chandigarh. Put to bat first, Yashasvi succumbed to a 13-ball duck. However, half-centuries from skipper Siddhesh Lad (80* in 176 balls, with eight fours) and Musheer Khan (65 in 149 balls, with four boundaries) and an attacking 82-ball 48 from Ayush Mhatre, saw the 42-time champions end the day with Lad and Shams Mulani (27*) unbeaten.
Rohit Dhanda (3/44) was among the top wicket-takers for Chandigarh.