Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Eighth Round Day 1 Round-up: Shardul Thakur's six-fer and Devendra Bundela's all-time Ranji record
On a day in which bowlers dominated the proceedings, Indian batsmen had a mixed bag and Devendra Bundela broke the record for most appearances in Ranji Trophy history. While Shardul Thakur and Dhawal Kulkarni had a field day, Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed cheaply while Manish Pandey was his side’s sole batting star on day one of the eighth round of Ranji Trophy matches in the 2016/17 season.
Also Read: Stats: Devendra Bundela breaks the record for most appearances in Ranji Trophy
Karnataka’s bowlers managed to gain some momentum after the batsmen failed following Vinay Kumar’s decision to bat at Dhruv Pandove Stadium in Patiala. Manish Pandey top-scored with 75 but Karnataka were still bowled out for 200 thanks to a combined bowling performance with no bowler taking more than three wickets and four taking at least two.
In response though, Saurashtra didn’t get off to the start they were looking for as Vinay Kumar picked up two wickets before bad light brought a premature end to the day’s proceedings. Still unbeaten in this season’s Ranji Trophy, Karnataka will be looking to take a first innings lead on day two with an improved bowling display.
Saurashtra 19/2 vs Karnataka 200
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Mumbai’s fast bowlers made hay at Nagpur as Indian fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni picked up three wickets but the undoubted star was Shardul Thakur with his six-wicket haul to bowl out Bengal for 99 before Mumbai’s batsmen easily took a lead before the close of play.
Bengal were bowled out just after lunch as Thakur’s 6/31 simply decimated their batting line-up in which only four players scored in double digits and extras was the third-highest run-scorer. In response, Mumbai’s openers did well even if Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav both fell cheaply. At the end of play, captain Aditya Tare was at the crease with Kulkarni with Mumbai already having a lead of 65 despite losing half their side.
Bengal 99 vs Mumbai 164/5
Delhi are in command of their clash against Vidarbha after their fast bowlers bowled them out for 183 on day one. The fast bowlers shared the bulk of the wickets and made the most of the conditions in Chennai but the batsmen couldn’t push home the advantage as Shikhar Dhawan fell cheaply.
Pradeep Sangwan, who has been in good form this year, picked up two wickets while Navdeep Saini picked up three but it was Sumit Narwal, who was the pick of the bowlers, as he finished with figures of 4/38. Rishabh Pant, who has had an excellent season with the bat, picked up four catches. In response, Dhawan fell for 6 and Gautam Gambhir saw out the rest of the day with night watchman Sangwan.
Vidarbha 183 vs Delhi 12/1
Brief scores
Group A
Uttar Pradesh 259 vs Railways 18/1
Baroda 31/2 vs Madhya Pradesh 217
Gujarat 281/2 vs Punjab
Group B
Assam vs Jharkhand 251/4
Odisha 311/9 vs Maharashtra
Group C
Kerala 11/0 vs Tripura 213
Andhra 159 vs Goa 115
Chhattisgarh 8/0 vs Services 224
Hyderabad 234/3 vs Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal vs Haryana 237/3