A day after their Test careers met with a dead end, veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane on Friday soldiered on for Saurashtra and Mumbai respectively with contrasting results in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru.
After winning their fifth IPL title in 2020, Mumbai twice crashed out in the league stages in two successive seasons in 2021 and 2022, while they made it to the play-offs last year, but lost in the Qualifier 2 match to the Pandya-led Gujaraat Titans.
With more than a 100 runs still to get, it would be an uphill task for Maharashtra to turn the match around on Day 3.
Sheldon Jackson top-scored for Saurashtra with a 44-ball 64 as they overcame a late challenge from Kerala to win by nine runs and set up a last eight clash against Mumbai.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
The dominance of Saurashtra's bowlers could be gauged from the fact that Himachal lost their first seven wickets for just 22 runs.
Indian women's team was dealt a big blow after vice-captain and premier batswoman Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out of the upcoming limited overs series against England with an ankle injury.
A summary of the first day's proceedings in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.