Ranji Trophy 2017 star watch: How India internationals performed in the opening round

The 84th edition of the Ranji Trophy got off to a starry start as the tournament had many India internationals playing for their respective states. Indianexpress.com takes a look at how they fared in the opening round of the prestigious domestic tournament.

Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir stamped authority with the bat when the left-hander notched up 137 in first innings against Assam at Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. Replying to Assam’s 258 runs, Delhi scored 435 in first innings and then bundled out the visiting team for 255. Gambhir didn’t come out to bat in the second innings and the match ended in a draw.

Murali Vijay, who plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic had, a forgettable start to his Ranji season as he scored 4 in the first innings against Andhra Pradesh and then got retired hurt in the second innings on third day of the match after ankle strain while he was batting on 13. The right-handed batsman did come out to bat on fourth and final day and scored 55 in Chennai before getting out to Prasanth. PTI

Abhinav Mukund continues to be among the runs and in the hunt for the Test opener’s slot. The left-hander scored 95 in the second innings against Andhra Pradesh. He had a decent partnership going with Baba Aparajith but fell short of the three-figure mark.

Saurashtra captain Cheteshwar Pujara scored 35 runs in a low-scoring match against Haryana in Rohtak. Pujara’s men clinched the win over Haryana by an innings and 31 runs after bowling them out for 107 and 140 in first and second innings respectively. (Source: AP)

Past few months have not gone well for Suresh Raina. The left-handed batsman recently failed the yo-yo test and failed to make an impression in Uttar Pradesh’s opening match against Railways. Leading the UP team, Raina himself wasn’t among the runs as he scored 6 and 29 in first and second innings respectively. He did have a bit of luck with the ball after returning with figures of 2/16 in 6 overs in first innings.

Wriddhiman Saha had a good platform already laid by the top-order when he came out to bat for for Bengal against Services at Palam in the first innings on the first day of the match on a pitch that was favouring the batsmen. Sudip Chatterjee was nearing a well-deserved hundred while captain Manoj Tiwary had already created some pressure on Services bowlers. Saha did capitalise on this and took on the bowling attack. Bengal scored 552/9 (d) and later bundled out Services for 359. Saha came out to bat at number five in second innings and looked aggressive in his approach. He scored 15 off 10 deliveries in second innings. The match ended in a draw and Bengal got three points after taking the first innings lead. (Source: AP)

Delhi and India fast bowler Ishant Sharma did catch eyes in the first Ranji Trophy match against Assam as he bagged a fifer in first innings. Starting with the new ball, Ishant bagged five Assam wickets at the cost of just 38 runs in 20 overs. He though failed to pick any wickets in the second innings but maintained a good economy as he gave runs at 2.15 an over.

Mohammed Shami didn’t start off his Ranji season in a great manner as the Bengal fast bowler had a wicket in each innings against Services at Palam. He returned with match figures of 38-8-123-2.

R Ashwin did fair well in first innings as he bagged a four-for after bowling just under 34 overs at an economy of 2.10. The off-spinner then shared the ball with Krishnamoorthy Vignesh in the second innings but was taken on by the Andhra batsmen as they hammered him for a total of 92 runs in just 16 overs. He did scalp a couple of wickets as Tamil Nadu managed to defend a target of 218 runs to end their first match of the tournament in a draw. (Source: Express file)