Uttar Pradesh batsman Aksh Deep Nath stuck an unbeaten hundred, which not only pulled his side out of trouble but also gave them an upper hand, on the opening day of their Elite Ranji Trophy Group B match against Mumbai here on Sunday.
Following an unbroken 137-run fifth-wicket stand between Nath (115 not out off 215 balls) andRinku Singh (71 not out off 134 balls; 7x4), UP ended the day at a decent 281/4 after being 48/3 at one stage at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai pacers Akash Parkar (2-67) and Royston Dias (2 -48) initially dominated proceeding but later Nath stuck a patient hundred to ensure Mumbai could not capitalise on the early advantage.
Vidarbha take control vs Delhi
New Delhi :Veteran Wasim Jaffer’s masterclass was a purists’ delight as Delhi's strategy of preparing a result-oriented seaming track boomeranged with defending champions Vidarbha taking control on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy encounter.
On a track where players half his age were not able to cross 20-run mark, the former India opener, who is a month shy from being 42, scored 83 in his team's meagre total of 179.
With ball jagging around all day in cold and windy conditions, former India U-19 seamer Aditya Thakare (4/14) polished the Delhi top-order in a five-over burst to reduce the hosts to 41 for 4 at stumps.
The match is expected to get over inside three days and Delhi will have to depend on the pair of Nitish Rana (3 batting) and Lalit Yadav (0 batting) to at least ensure a respectable first innings total.
Thakare got the bowl to swing both ways as the likes of captain Dhruv Shorey was deceived by away movement and Jonty Sidhu squared up by late swing.
The day belonged to Jaffer, who showed the technique to bat on a track where the trio of Ishant Sharma (3/45 in 14 overs), Simarjeet Singh (4/39 in 16.5 overs) and Kulwant Khejroliya (2/50 in 18 overs) made life miserable for other players.
Tiwary put Bengal in command
Kalyani (WB): Former skipper Manoj Tiwary hit an unbeaten 156 and Shreevats Goswami a combative 95 as Bengal recovered from a shaky start to end the day one of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Hyderabad at a commanding 366 for five, here on Sunday.
Desperate for an outright win to keep their qualifying hopes alive, Bengal, who chose Kalyani over Eden Gardens, found the going tough early on to be reduced to 60 for three inside 15 overs.
Opener A Raman fell for a duck in the fifth ball of the day, edging Ravi Kiran (2/47) behind the stumps after Bengal elected to bat.
Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (12) continued his poor run while debutant Kazi Saifi, who was drafted in after his stupendous show at the U-23 level, could not convert his start to be dismissed for 27.
But it was Tiwary who showed a class act as he paced his innings beautifully to lead Bengal's recovery.
Number five Anustup Majumdar (59) also gave a fine support with 86-ball 59 (8x4) as the duo put on 112 runs for the fourth wicket.
TN take upperhand
Chennai: A superb performance by bowlers R Ashwin and M Siddharth and a ton by Abhinav Mukund gave Tamil Nadu the upperhand on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy Group B match against Railways here on Sunday.
Electing to bat, the visiting team folded for 76 in 39.1 overs as the experienced Ashwin (4/26) and left-arm spinner Siddharth (4/32) ran through the railways batting order.
At stumps, the hosts were sitting pretty putting up 236 for 4.
From 15 for no loss in the 8th over, the Railways batsmen came a cropper against Ashwin and Siddharth to be bundled out in the opening session of the game.It was a dismal display by the Railways batsmen as only three managed to reach double figures with Saurabh Singh (22) being the top-scorer.
