KOLKATA: Asked to bat first in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A opening game in Rajkot, Jharkhand batters capitulated to fine swing bowling by hosts Saurashtra as they were skittled for a paltry 142 in 49 overs on Friday.
Chirag Jani was the pick of the bowlers for the defending champions with five for 22 runs while Aditya Jadeja and veteran Jaidev Unadkat took two wickets each.Losing the top half for just 45 runs on board inside 17 overs, Kumar Kushagra, Shahbaz Nadeem and Anukul Roy’s fighting 20s helped a struggling Jharkhand side go near the 150-run mark.
In reply, the Unadkat-led side reached 108 at stumps losing opener Snell Patel. Harvik Desai and veteran Sheldon Jackson are at the crease as Saurashtra trail by just 34 runs going into the second day.
Baroda in charge: Electing to field first in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D opener in Vadodara, Odisha paid the price of letting their opponents off the hook as home side Baroda came back from 130/5 in 46.2 overs to finish Day 1 on top reaching 322 for six wickets.
Opener Jyotsnil Singh scored a patient 73 as none of his partners until Ninad Rathva (48) at No. 6 gave him enough company in the middle. However, it was Mitesh Patel and Atit Sheth’s 112-run unbeaten seventh-wicket stand which helped Baroda shift the balance in their favour at stumps.
Assam peg C’garh back: Opting to field first in their Elite Group B opening fixture in Raipur, Assam restricted Chhattisgarh to 249 for five at the end of first day’s play as the hosts’ captain, centurion Amandeep Khare returned to pavilion on the last ball of the day to much relief of the visitors.
Right mix of seam and spin bowling had given Assam a decent start as Chhattisgarh were down to 52 for three in 29 overs but thereafter Khare joined hands with Ashutosh Singh to stitch together a 100-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter edged off-spinner Kunal Sarmah behind.
The hosts looked all set to end the day’s play with their nose ahead and without any further damage but left-arm medium pacer Mrinmoy Dutta gave Assam a crucial breakthrough by rattling the stumps of Khare in the fifth ball of the 90th over with the umpires calling it a day.
Summarised scores (selected matches):
Elite Group A: Jharkhand 142 all out in 49 overs (K Kushagra 29, S Nadeem 27, A Roy 24; C Jani 5/22, A Jadeja 2/34, J Unadkat 2/39). Saurashtra 108/1 in 29 overs (H Desai 54 batting, S Jackson 37 batting; V Vishal 1/42).
Elite Group B: Chhattisgarh 249/5 in 89.5 overs (A Khare 116, Ashutosh 58; M Hussain 1/33, A Sengupta 1/33) vs Assam.
Elite Group D: Baroda 322/6 in 88 overs (M Patel 94 batting, Jyotsnil 73, A Sheth 56 batting; D Pradhan 1/48, G Poddar 1/50) vs Odisha. All matches to continue.
Chirag Jani was the pick of the bowlers for the defending champions with five for 22 runs while Aditya Jadeja and veteran Jaidev Unadkat took two wickets each.Losing the top half for just 45 runs on board inside 17 overs, Kumar Kushagra, Shahbaz Nadeem and Anukul Roy’s fighting 20s helped a struggling Jharkhand side go near the 150-run mark.
In reply, the Unadkat-led side reached 108 at stumps losing opener Snell Patel. Harvik Desai and veteran Sheldon Jackson are at the crease as Saurashtra trail by just 34 runs going into the second day.
Baroda in charge: Electing to field first in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D opener in Vadodara, Odisha paid the price of letting their opponents off the hook as home side Baroda came back from 130/5 in 46.2 overs to finish Day 1 on top reaching 322 for six wickets.
Opener Jyotsnil Singh scored a patient 73 as none of his partners until Ninad Rathva (48) at No. 6 gave him enough company in the middle. However, it was Mitesh Patel and Atit Sheth’s 112-run unbeaten seventh-wicket stand which helped Baroda shift the balance in their favour at stumps.
Assam peg C’garh back: Opting to field first in their Elite Group B opening fixture in Raipur, Assam restricted Chhattisgarh to 249 for five at the end of first day’s play as the hosts’ captain, centurion Amandeep Khare returned to pavilion on the last ball of the day to much relief of the visitors.
Right mix of seam and spin bowling had given Assam a decent start as Chhattisgarh were down to 52 for three in 29 overs but thereafter Khare joined hands with Ashutosh Singh to stitch together a 100-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter edged off-spinner Kunal Sarmah behind.
The hosts looked all set to end the day’s play with their nose ahead and without any further damage but left-arm medium pacer Mrinmoy Dutta gave Assam a crucial breakthrough by rattling the stumps of Khare in the fifth ball of the 90th over with the umpires calling it a day.
Summarised scores (selected matches):
Elite Group A: Jharkhand 142 all out in 49 overs (K Kushagra 29, S Nadeem 27, A Roy 24; C Jani 5/22, A Jadeja 2/34, J Unadkat 2/39). Saurashtra 108/1 in 29 overs (H Desai 54 batting, S Jackson 37 batting; V Vishal 1/42).
Elite Group B: Chhattisgarh 249/5 in 89.5 overs (A Khare 116, Ashutosh 58; M Hussain 1/33, A Sengupta 1/33) vs Assam.
Elite Group D: Baroda 322/6 in 88 overs (M Patel 94 batting, Jyotsnil 73, A Sheth 56 batting; D Pradhan 1/48, G Poddar 1/50) vs Odisha. All matches to continue.
