Ranji Trophy 2016-17: Round 6, Day 1 round-up: Vidarbha capitulates on 59, Rahul scores a quickfire fifty in return game
In the points table of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy, Mumbai and Karnataka are sitting pretty on top of their respective groups, while Haryana leads Group C, followed closely by Himachal Pradesh and Andhra. The sixth round of matches began today across the country with all big teams in action. Day one saw a total of five teams getting bowled out – Mumbai, Saurashtra, Vidarbha, Baroda and Tripura, with the most talked about performance coming from Vidarbha, who got bowled out for 59.
Here's our round-up from all the action from Day one of round six in the Ranji Trophy:
Mumbai vs Uttar Pradesh
In a Group A match in Mysore, Mumbai got all out for 233 on a wicket that assisted the quick bowlers. Surya Kumar Yadav came excruciatingly close to scoring a hundred, getting out on 99. For Uttar Pradesh, chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav took 4 wickets, while Saurabh Kumar took 3 wickets. In reply, Uttar Pradesh ended the day on 22 with a loss of their opener Tanmay Srivastava. Bhuvneshwar Kumar who marked his return with this game bowled 13 overs, but was not able to take any wickets.
Mumbai 233 vs Uttar Pradesh 22/1
Bengal vs Tamil Nadu
Another Group A game played at Rajkot saw a lot of slow and boring cricket, with Bengal scoring 190 runs in 90 overs, losing just three wickets. Although there were no demons in Rajkot’s pitch, Bengal batted in a highly restrained manner. Manoj Tiwari and Agniv Pan scored a fifty each scoring at a stike-rate of less than 40. Bengal spent of the day scoring at less than 2 runs an over, and it will be interesting to see whether they bat more aggressively on day two.
Bengal 190/5 vs Tamil Nadu
Maharashtra vs Vidarbha
In a Group B game at Eden Gardens, Maharashtra’s fast bowler Anupam Sanklecha ran riot over Vidarbha, taking seven wickets. Sanklecha was instrumental in triggering a Vidarbha collapse, bowling them all out for 59. Eden Garden’s pitch is considered to be a batting friendly, and Vidarbha’s poor batting display leaves a lot to be desired for their fans. In reply, Maharashtra batted aggressively, ending day one on 240 for 3, with Naushad Shaikh scoring a fine hundred.
Maharashtra 240/3 vs Vidarbha 59
Karnataka vs Rajasthan
KL Rahul marked his return from injury by scoring a quick-fire 76 for Karnataka in a Group B match. Mayank Aggarwal and Ravikumar Samarth also scored fifties for Karnataka. The group leaders ended day one at 345 for the loss of six wickets. For Rajasthan, TM-ul-Haq took three wickets. Karnakata still has Shreyas Gopal in the middle, and they would be looking to post a big total in their first innings.
Karnataka 345/6 vs Rajasthan
Kerala vs Goa
In a Group C in Mumbai, Kerala dominated Goa with the bat ending day one on 290 with the loss of just two wickets. Bhavin Thakkar and Rohan Prem put on a fine stand for the second wicket and scored a century each.
Kerala 290/2 vs Goa
Hyderabad vs Services
Some late order resistance by Mehdi Hasan saw Hyderabad end day one on 303 for 7 against Services in a Group C match played at Mumbai. Akshat Reddy and Sandeep also scored fifties for Hyderabad, while Raushan Raj picked up four wickets for Services.
Other Scores
In Pune: Gujarat 225/4 vs Madhya Pradesh
In Nagpur: Baroda 183 vs Railways 39/0
In Agartala: Saurashtra 277 vs Jharkhand 29/0
In Hyderabad: Assam 224/5 vs Odisha
In Kanpur: Chhattisgarh 212/7 vs Himachal
In Cuttack: Haryana 295/5 vs Jammu & Kashmir
In Valsad: Tripura 171 vs Andhra 47/1