Bhuvi fifer on comeback blows away Bengal
Veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar blew away Bengal top-order in an incredible five-wicket haul in a dream Ranji Trophy comeback as Uttar Pradesh bounced back after being shot out for 60 on the opening day of their group B match in Kanpur on Friday.
Opting to bowl on a green-top pitch after a delayed start, Uttar Pradesh's first innings lasted just 20.5 overs in the opening session.
India pacer Mohammed Shami's younger brother Mohammed Kaif was the star for Bengal, claiming 4/14 in his 5.5 overs.
But what unfolded thereafter was a Bhuvi show as the injury-prone India seamer marked his first-class return by claiming 5/25 from 13 overs, that included three maiden overs.
The 33-year-old, who last played in Tests in the South Africa tour in 2018, dismissed Sourav Paul (13) and Sudip Gharami (0) in the space of three balls.
He then returned to take the wickets of Anustup Majumdar (12), captain Manoj Tiwary (3) and Abhishek Porel (12) in one spell en route to his 13th first-class fifer.
With the India's five-match home Test series against England on the horizon and doubts lingering over Mohammed Shami's return, it remains to be seen if the selectors are prompted to reconsider Bhuvneshwar after Friday's show.
At stumps, Bengal were 95/5. Opener Sayan Ghosh, playing the lone vigil with a dogged 37 off 87 balls, was the last designated Bengal batter. He has Karan Lal in company, batting on 8.
Iyer 48, Rahane golden duck on return
Andhra's 20-year-old seamer Nitish Reddy grabbed 3/20, including the prized-scalps of Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer, to prevent Mumbai from establishing a firm grip in another group B match.
Hosts Mumbai were restricted to 281/6 at stumps.
Reddy dismissed the Mumbai skipper and veteran Indian batter Rahane for a golden duck and then denied Iyer a half-century by two runs in his comeback match.
Returning to the Mumbai XI for the first time in the Ranji Trophy since the 2018-19 season, Iyer entertained with a run-a-ball 48 (7x4).
But Iyer, who struggled for form in the two-match Test series in South Africa, could not convert his start and became the fifth wicket to fall for Mumbai.
The day, however, began with optimism for the 41-time Ranji champions, as their top-order batters aimed to lay a solid foundation after Ricky Bhui opted to bowl.
Opener Jay Bista set the foundation with a gritty innings of 39 runs off 78 balls, but fell to a catch by substitute fielder K Ashwin Hebbar with Reddy breaking the opening stand for 69.
In the very next over, Rahane, who is also returning after sitting out of the opening match due to a stiff neck, was trapped by Reddy.
The other opener Bhupen Lalwani showed resolve to play anchor, notching up 61 runs in 119 balls, displaying a balance of technique and patience in his partnership with Suved Parkar.
But, he was cleaned up by Lalith Mohan, leaving Suved Parkar and Iyer to stabilise Mumbai innings.
Later, Prasad Pawar and Shams Mulani played crucial roles, batting on 30 and 31 respectively to ensure that Mumbai end the day on a positive note, minimizing the damage caused by earlier dismissals.
Brief Scores:
In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 60 all out in 20.5 overs (Samarth Singh 13; Mohammed Kaif 4/14, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 3/20, Ishan Porel 2/24) vs Bengal 95 for 5 in 28 overs (Sayan Ghosh 37 batting; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/25).
In Mumbai: Mumbai 281 for 6 in 88 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 61, Shreyas Iyer 48, Suved Parkar 41, Shams Mulani 30 batting, Tanush Kotian 31 batting; Nitish Reddy 3/44, Shoaib Md Khan 2/42) vs Andhra.
In Patna: Bihar 108 all out in 38.4 overs (Bipin Saurabh 49; Ravi Kiran 5/21, Vashudev Bareth 3/21) vs Chhattisgarh 90 for 1 in 27 overs (Rishabh Tiwari 42 batting).
In Guwahati: Kerala 141 for 1 in 37 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 83, Krishna Prasad 52 batting) vs Assam.
Jayant Yadav's five-for helps Haryana take control of Ranji match against Saurashtra
Off-spinner Jayant Yadav returned with a five-wicket haul as Haryana dismissed defending champions Saurashtra for 145 to take control of their Ranji Trophy Group A match on the opening day in Rajkot.
Jayant (5/42 in 16 overs) ripped through the Saurashtra middle and lower order after Sumit Kumar had dismissed the top three batters Harvik Desai (15), Snell Patel (1) and Sheldon Jackson (1).
Senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who struck a double tone in the previous match, was the top-scorer with 49 off 100 balls as Saurashtra were all out for 145 in 55 overs after electing to bat.
In reply, Haryana were going strong by reaching 122 for 1 off 33 overs at stumps with Ankit Kumar and Himanshu Rana batting on 68 and 38 respectively to give their side a 23-run first innings lead.
Ankit has nine fours and one six off 99 balls he has faced so far.
Virat Singh's 108 takes Jharkhand to 292/5 against Maharashtra
In another Group A match in Pune, captain Virat Singh struck 108 off 171 balls to help Jharkhand reach 292 for 5 from 89 overs at stumps on day 1 against Maharashtra. He hit eight fours and three sixes.
Kumar Suraj also chipped in with a 156-ball 83 which was studded with 11 fours and one six.
For Maharashtra, Hitesh Walunj took three wickets while Ashay Palkar got two.
Brief Scores:
In Rajkot: Saurashtra 145 in 55 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 49; Jayant Yadav 5/42) vs Haryana 122 for 1 in 33 overs (Ankit Kumar 68 not out).
In Pune: Jharkhand 292 for 5 in 89 overs (Virat Singh 108, Kumar Suraj 83; Hitesh Walunj 3/76) vs Maharashtra.
In Delhi: Services 173 for 1 in 73 overs (Nitin Tanwar 61 not out, Ravi Chauhan 81 not out) vs Rajasthan.
In Ahmedabad: Manipur 75 in 34.3 overs (Bikash Singh 13; Aditya Thakare 5/32, Aditya Sarwate 4/6) vs Vidarbha 123 for 4 in 49 overs (Faiz Fazal 29, Shubham Dubey 20 not out; L Kishan Singha 3/25).
Prabhudessai's unbeaten 124 puts Goa in command vs Chandigarh
Goa opener Suyash Prabhudessai remained unbeaten on 124 as the hosts were in command with 267/3 on the opening day their Ranji Group C match in Porvorim.
Opting to bat, the Goans were off to a decent start, with Prabhudessai and Ishaan Gadekar (45) putting on a 79-run opening stand before the latter was knocked over by pacer Arpit Pannu.
Prabhudessai then joined forces with Krishnamurthy Siddharth (77) and built a strong 149-run partnership for the second wicket, strengthening the Goa innings.
The stand was eventually disturbed by Raj Bawa.
In another Group C fixture in Ahmedabad, Gujarat folded for 264 against Karnataka with Vasuki Koushik's returning with 4/49.
Put in, Gujarat were off to a shaky start and were reeling at 45 for four before Kshitij Patel (95) and Umang Kumar (72) tailored a healthy 157-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Eventually, Vijaykumar Vyshak got rid of Kshitij at 202, quickly followed by Umang six runs later before they were bundled out at 264.
In Chandigarh, Railways finished day one on 118 for three against Punjab, thanks to Pratham Singh's unbeaten 50.
Play could only be started after lunch due to bad light.
For Punjab, Baltej Singh, Siddarth Kaul and Abhinav Sharma grabbed a wicket each, while Sanvir Singh put up a tidy show.
Bad light rendered no opening day's proceedings in Tripura home match against Tamil Nadu at Agartala.
Brief Scores
In Porvorim: Goa 267/3; 90 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 124 batting, Krishnamurthy Siddharth 77; Raj Bawa 1/36) versus Chandigarh.
In Ahmedabad: Gujarat 264; 88 overs (Kshitij Patel 95, Umang Kumar 72; Vasuki Koushik 4/49) versus Karnataka.
In Chandigarh: Railways 118/3; 34 overs (Pratham Singh 50 batting; Baltej Singh 1/26) versus Punjab.
In Agartala: Tripura versus Tamil Nadu - No play.
Udeshi's seven-wicket haul gives Puducherry upper hand against Baroda
Veteran left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi sizzled with a seven-wicket haul as Puducherry dismissed Baroda for 218 and then reached 54 for 3 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group D match in Vadodara.
Opting to bat, Baroda made a solid start with openers Jyotsnil Singh (51) and Kinit Patel (44) forging a 93-run partnership but Udeshi (7/82) then spun his web around the opposition batters to leave them gasping for breath in one of the best spells of his career.
The 37-year-old from Maharashtra completely derailed Baroda's innings as he dismissed both the openers in the 29th and 31st overs, before getting rid of Abhimanyu Singh (5) and trapping skipper Vishnu Solanki (18) as the hosts lost half their side in 55th over.
Mitesh Patel (0), Atit Sheth (1) and Ninad Rathva (31) were next in line as wickets fell like nine pins with Udeshi dismantling their opposition.
Mahesh Pithiya then hit a counter-attacking 37-ball 30 with five fours to take Baroda past the 200-mark.
In reply, Puducherry lost both their openers in quick succession with Bhargav Bhatt (2/24) claiming both the wickets.
Paras Dogra (11) too was cleaned up by Ninad rathva (1/4).
At the draw of stumps, Paras Ratnaparkhe (13 not out) and Udeshi (0 not out) were at the crease with Puducherry trailing by 164 runs.
Tare slams 100, Uttarakhand 229/9 vs HP
At Dharamsala, Aditya Tare compiled a well-deserving 100 to steer Uttarakhand to 229 for nine against Himachal Pradesh on the opening day.
Sent in to bat, Tare hit 14 boundaries and a six during his 145-ball innings but rest of the Uttarakhand batters cut a sorry figure with just Kunal Chandela (26), Swapnil Singh (19) and Akash Madhwal (16) reaching doubles figures.
Vaibhav Arora (3/34) and Abhishek Kumar (3/44) took three wickets each, while Rishi Dhawan (2/35) picked up two and Arpit Guleria (1/21) accounted for one wicket for Himachal.
In Indore, Subhranshu Senapati (87 not out) and Rajesh Dhuper (51) smashed half-centuries as Odisha reached 208 for six in 85.3 overs against Madhya Pradesh at stumps on day one.
Put in, Odisha found themselves in a spot of bother after being reduced to 38 for four in 21.1 overs.
But Senapati and Dhuper resurrected the innings with an 118-run fifth wicket stand.
At stumps, Suryakant Pradhan was giving company to Senapati.
Brief Scores:
Baroda 1st innings: 218 allout in 69.5 overs (Jyotsnil Singh 51; Sagar Udeshi 7/82) vs Puducherry 1st innings 54/3 in 18 overs (Jay Pande 20; Bhargav Bhat 2/24).
Uttarakhand 229/9 in 76 overs (Aditya Tare 100; Vaibhav Arora 3/34) against Himachal Pradesh.
Odisha 208/6 in 85.3 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 87 not out; Venkatesh Iyer 2/25) against Madhya Pradesh.
Delhi 0-0 in 1 overs against Jammu and Kashmir as bad light suspends play.
