Ranji Trophy: Yuvraj Singh on the verge of ton as he lifts Punjab to 327/3, Iyer shines for Mumbai

Yuvraj Singh

New Delhi, December 28 (IANS)

Mandeep Singh (not out 154) and Yuvraj Singh (not out 95) powered Punjab to 327 for three on the first day of their Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra in Rajkot while Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer's 153 helped the visitors reach 306 for four against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

Punjab's right-hander Mandeep, who registered his eighth First-class century, joined Yuvraj when the team's scoreboard read 100 for three as Saurashtra's Sudeep Tyagi removed openers Amitoze Singh (45) and Jiwanjot Singh (11) quickly.

But the left-right combination stitched an unbeaten 227-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which not only steered the team to safety but also put Punjab on top.

In Kolkata, Mumbai's right-hander Iyer notched up his maiden ton, which comprised 16 fours and four huge sixes, to put the visitors on top against Bengal.

The 20-year-old got good support from seasoned Abhishek Nayar (65) and the duo forged a 176-run stand for the third wicket before Nayar fell to Veer Pratap Singh, who also dismissed opener Aditya Tare (24).

Meanwhile, Odisha dismissed hosts Haryana for 127 in their first innings before reaching 39 without loss on the first day at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Lahli, in Rohtak.

Odisha medium pacers Basant Mohanty (three for 40), Suryakant Pradhan (three for 35) and Deepak Behera (three for 33) made most of the lively Lahli track and helped the visitors bowl out Haryana in 41.1 overs.

Brief Scores:

At Guwahati, Assam vs Himachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh 1st innings 282 for two (Ankush Bains 156, Paras Dogra 76).

At Kolkata, Bengal vs Mumbai, Mumbai 1st innings 306 for four (Shreyas Iyer 153, Abhishek Nayar 65; Veer Pratap Singh 2/79).

At Delhi, Delhi vs Gujarat, Delhi 1st innings 178 for one (Unmukt Chand 97 not out, Gautam Gambhir 66).

At Rohtak, Haryana vs Odisha, Haryana 1st innings 127 all out (Abhimanyu Khod 38; Deepak Behera 3/33, Suryakant Pradhan 3/35) Odisha 1st innings 39 for no loss.

At Hyderabad, Hyderabad vs Services, Services 1st innings 235 for seven (Soumik Chatterjee 70, Deepak Punia 61 not out; Akash Bhandari 4/64).

At Dhanbad, Jharkhand vs Kerala, Jharkhand 1st innings 246 for six (Virat Singh 100; Rohan Prem 2/29, K.S. Monish 2/59).

At Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh vs Baroda, Baroda 1st innings 291 for six (Saurabh Wakaskar 94, Deepak Hooda 82; Avesh Khan 2/34).

At Jaipur, Rajasthan vs Vidarbha, Vidarbha 1st innings 236 for six (Shalabh Shrivastava 105, S. Badrinath 47; Pankaj Singh 4/85).

At Rajkot, Punjab vs Saurashtra, Punjab 1st innings 327 for three (Mandeep Singh 154 not out, Yuvraj 95 not out; Suddep Tyagi 2/51)

At Chennai, Tamil Nadu vs Railways, Tamil Nadu 1st innings 144 for four (Abhinav Mukund 57; Ashish Yadav 2/49).

At Agartala, Goa vs Tripura, Goa 1st innings 234 for eight (Reagan Pinto 78, Amogh Sunil Desai 60; Rana Dutta 6/57).

At Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh vs Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh 1st innings 113 for no loss (Tanmay Srivastava 56 not out, Akash Verma 55 not out).