Gugale (101) hit 15 fours in his 191-ball knock.RANJI-GROUP A
Maharashtra opener Swapnil Gugale hit a century as the hosts powered their way to 298 for 3 against Mumbai on the opening day of their elite Ranji Trophy Group A game on Thursday. Put in to bat at the MCA International Stadium in Gahunje on the outskirts of the city, Gugale (101) and his opening partner Chirag Khurana (71) laid a solid foundation with a 146-run stand.
The two batsmen, with their effective stroke play, made life difficult for Mumbai bowlers, who missed the experience of key pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Tushar Deshpande, both out with injuries.
The 27-year-old Gugale hit 15 fours in his 191-ball knock, while Khurana notched 12 in his 106-ball stay at the wicket. After Khurana fell, one down Jay Pande (68 not out) joined Gugale as the two shared a 52-run stand.
But soon after completing his fourth first class century, Pune-born Gugale was cleaned up by right-arm medium pacer Shubham Ranjane (2-30). Skipper Rahul Tripathi (25 not out) was holding the fort with Pande at stumps.
Meanwhile at Vadodara, Baroda bowled out Chhattisgarh for a paltry 129 and then overhauled the total to be 36 ahead by close. At Rajkot, Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shah, who is playing his last match, led from the front, scoring a valiant 97 as the hosts managed to post 288 for 9 against Karnataka.
At Valsad, Piyush Chawla slammed an unbeaten century to take hosts Gujarat to 340 for 8 against Railways. Gujarat skipper Priyank Panchal also proved his mettle by scoring a valuable 69.
Brief scores: At Pune: Maharashtra (Swapnil Gugale 101, Chirag Khurana 71; Shubham Ranjane 2-30) versus Mumbai.
At Rajkot: Saurashtra 288/9 (Jaydev Shah 97, A V Vasavada 38; J Suchith 5-104) versus Karnataka.
At Vadodara: Chhattisgarh 129 all out (Harpreet Singh Bhatia 37, Vishal Singh 26; Swapnil Singh 5-23) versus Baroda 165/7 (Yusuf Pathan 46 not out, Mitesh Patel 36; Vishal Kushwah 2-11).
At Valsad: Gujarat 340/8 (Piyush Chawla 109 not out, Priyank Panchal 69; Amit Mishra 4-78) versus Railways.
RANJI-GROUP B: Indrajith, Shahrukh help TN recover
Half-centuries by skipper B Indrajith (87) and debutant M Shahrukh Khan (82 batting) helped Tamil Nadu recover from 31 for 4 to a respectable 249 for 6 in 90 overs on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ match here Thursday.
Electing to bat first, Tamil Nadu suffered an early jolt when the experienced Abhinav Mukund was leg-before wicket for a duck to Sandeep Warrier off the second ball of the match.
B Aparajith (3), who made a ton in the last match against Bengal, didn’t last too long and was done in by a beautiful delivery from Warrier.
Opener Kaushik Gandhi (19) and Dinesh Karthik (4), who is back in the state squad after being part of the national T20 side in the series against Australia, were sent back by Basil Thampi to leave Tamil Nadu in a spot of bother. Dinesh Karthik was caught brilliantly by K B Arun Karthick.
Indrajith first put on 50 runs for the fifth wicket with N Jagadeesan (21) to lead the home team’s recovery. Later, the captain added 103 runs for the sixth wicket with Shahrukh Khah. It was a phase in which the duo mixed caution and some aggressive play. The two countered the pacemen well and displayed some good footwork to take on the spinners. Indrajith looked good to score a century before being bowled by Warrier.
Shahrukh, who remained not out on 82 (7X4, 1X6) and M Mohammed (25 batting) added 65 runs for the seventh wicket to help Tamil Nadu’s cause.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu (B Indrajith 87, Shahrukh Khan 82 batting, Sandeep Warrier 3 for 42) vs Kerala. (Toss: TN).
At Mohali: Himachal Pradesh 244 for 5 in 90 overs (R Dhawan 61, N R Gangta 58, A Kalsi 50 not out) vs Punjab. (Toss: Punjab).
At Indore: Hyderabad 124 all out in 35.3 overs (Himalay Agarwal 69 not out, Avesh Khan 7 for 24) vs Madhya Pradesh 168 for 1 in 46 overs (Ajay Rohera 81 batting, Rajat Patidar 51 batting). (Toss: MP).
RANJI-GROUP C: Choudhary helps Rajasthan bundle out Assam for 108
Rajasthan bowlers, led by left-arm medium pacer Aniket Choudhary, skittled out Assam for 108 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group C game here Thursday.
At stumps, Rajasthan skipper Mahipal Lomror remained unbeaten on 77 in the company of Robin Bist (48 not out) as the hosts overhauled the visitors total and were ahead by 45 runs.
Rajasthan ended the opening day at 153 for 2. Put into bat, the Assam innings folded up at 108 in just 28.1 overs with Chaudhary (5-38) leading the destruction. Among his victims were Assam openers Rishav Das (3) and Parvez Aziz (0). Chaudhary was ably supported by another pacer Nathu Singh (3-33).
For Assam, number 9 Arup Das (36 not out) and number 10 Ranjit Mali (28) played handy knocks to ensure the side passed the 100-run mark after Assam tottered at 47 for 8.
Das hit four boundaries and two sixes in his 20-ball breezy knock.
In reply, Rajasthan lost openers Amitkumar Gautam (12) and Chetan Bist (10) cheaply, but the innings was resurrected by Lormor and Bist.
Meanwhile, at Jammu, Uttar Pradesh bowled out Jammu and Kashmir for 290 as slow left-arm orthodox bowler Saurabh Kumar picked up 6 wickets. But J and K hit back to leave UP reeling at 31 for 3 in reply by close.
At Agartala, Rahul Dagar hit a hundred as Haryana ended the day at 258 for 7 against Tripura.
At Ranchi, Odisha bowled out Jharkhand for 172, but pacer Varun Aaron led a fight back by picking up two wickets as Odisha were left in a difficult spot at 27 for 3, still adrift by 145 runs.
Brief scores: At Jaipur: Assam 108 all out (Arup Das 36 not out, Aniket Chaudhary 5-38, Nathu Singh 3-33) versus Rajasthan 153/2 (Mahipal Lomror 77 not out, Robin Bist 48 not out).
At Agartala:Haryana 258/7 (R M Dagar 114, C K Bishnoi 82, A S Sarkar 3-47, M B Mura Singh 3-54) versus Tripura.
At Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir 290 all out (Irfan Pathan 91, Parvez Rasool 87, Saurabh Kumar 6-90)versus Uttar Pradesh 31/3 (Madhav Kaushik 11 not out, Mohammed Mudhasir 3-17).
At Ranchi: Jharkhand 172 all out (Ishank Jaggi 34, Kumar Deobrat 29, Basant Mohanty 5-44) versus Odisha 27/3 (Biplab Samantaray 10 not out, Varun Aaron 2-22.
At Porvorim: Services 184 all out (Ravi Chauhan 75, Vijesh Prabhudesai 5-52, Amulya Pandrekar 3-27) versus Goa 27/1.
RANJI-PLATE: Bihar shot out Arunachal for 84; Dogra slams 253
Left-arm spinner Ashutosh Aman foxed the lower order with a four-wicket haul as Bihar shot out Arunachal Pradesh for 84 in their Ranji Trophy Plate Group match on Thursday.
In reply, opener Indrajit Kumar’s unbeaten 127 helped Bihar take a 166-run lead at stumps on the first day.
Electing to bowl, Bihar medium pacers Vivek Kumar (3/26) and Rehan Khan (2/17) gave early breakthroughs before Ashutosh ran through the lower order at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium.
Only two of Arunachal Pradesh batsmen, opener Techi Doria (33) and Neelam Obi (21) could get to double digits as the visitors folded their first innings in 39.5 overs.
At the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad, veteran Paras Dogra slammed a career-best 253 off just 244 balls to propel Puducherry to 418/4 after Sikkim opted to bowl.
The 34-year-old slammed 30 fours and seven sixes in his innings. He got support from Vikneshwaran Marimuthu (78) and Damodaren Rohit (59).
In Dimapur, debutant Mayank Raghav struck an unbeaten century to put Manipur in a commanding positon against hosts Nagaland, who were bundled out for 126.
Raghav’s unbeaten 109 took Manipur to 173/3 for a 47-run first innings lead.
Earlier, Manipur medium pacers led by Kabrambam Meitei (3/46) rattled the Nagaland top order to reduce them to 15/4 inside eight overs.
There was no resistance from the Nagaland batsmen with Priyojit Singh (3/20) and Thokchom Singh (3/32) also claiming three apiece to bowl them out in the post-lunch session.
In reply, Manipur lost opener Prafullomani Singh off the first ball to Suyal but Lakhan Rawat and Raghav added 68 runs for the first wicket.
After Rawat’s dismissal, Raghav put on 73 runs for the third wicket with skipper Yashpal Singh (35) to give them the lead.
Brief Scores:
In Dehradun: Meghalaya 294/5; 84 overs (Puneet Bisht 154, Yogesh Nagar 91; Dhanraj Sharma 2/72, Sunny Rana 2/73). vs Uttarakhand.
In Dimapur: Nagaland 126 (Paras Sehrawat 27 not out; Priyojit Singh 3/20, Thokchom Singh 3/32, Kabrambam Meitei 3/46). Manipur 173/3 (Mayank Raghav 109 batting, Yashpal Singh 35; Abrar Kazi 1/30).
In Patna: Arunachal Pradesh 84; 39.5 overs (Tecchi Doria 33; Ashutosh Aman 4/26, Vivek Kumar 3/26, Rehan Khan 2/17). Bihar 250/1; 48 overs (Indrajit Kumar 127 batting, Babul Kumar 72 batting, K Rajnish 45).
In Wayanad: Puducherry 418/4; 90 overs (Paras Dogra 253, Vikneshwaran Marimuthu 78, Damodaren Rohit 59) vs Sikkim.
