The seventh round of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season kick-started today and the first day witnessed a mixed bag of performances. While India discard Ashok Dinda picked up six wickets in an innings to restrict Baroda to a modest total, Gujarat batsmen dominated the Mumbai team for a major course of the play.
The absence of KL Rahul hurt Karnataka as they were bundled out for less than 200 on the first day of their clash against Odisha. Here is a quick wrap at what happened on the first day of Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season’s seventh round.
Gujarat 246/3 vs Mumbai
Gujarat got off to a great start on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy fixture against Mumbai as openers Samit Gohel and Priyank Panchal piled up a hundred-run stand between them. Having won the toss, Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel had no doubts in batting first on a flat pitch at KSCA Hubli cricket ground. The Gujarat batsman started slowly yet steadily built the partnership. While Panchal brought up his century, Gohel was bowled for 87 by Vishal Dabholkar.
In what looked like a great start, the Gujarat batsman started losing their way and lost two more quick wickets. However Manpreet Juneja combined with Panchal to steady the Gujarat ship as they ended their day at 246 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Rajasthan 238 vs Delhi 37/0
The Delhi team received a major boost ahead of their clash against Rajasthan as Gautam Gambhir, having been released from the Indian Test team, was available for selection along with Shikhar Dhawan who was declared fit to play.
Having asked to bat first by Gambhir, the Rajasthan team never really looked in control of the game as they kept losing wickets on a regular basis and eventually ended their first innings at 238 runs. Opener Amitkumar Gautam was the only highlight for Rajasthan as he worked patiently for his knock of 106 off 182 balls.
Delhi bowlers Navdeep Saini and Vikas Tokas were pick of the bowlers as they bagged three wickets each. The Delhi-opening pair of Dhawan and Gambhir ended the day's play at 37 runs for no loss.
Odisha 42/2 vs Karnataka 179
Karnataka had a disastrous start to their match against Odisha in Palam A Stadium in Delhi as Vinay Kumar's men were bundled out for just 179 in their first innings. Odisha captain Govinda Poddar won the toss and asked Karnataka to bat first.
Last match's centurion KL Rahul's absence hurt the Karnataka top order as only two of the top five batsmen could enter the double figures. The Odisha bowlers didn't allow the batsmen to settle down and consistently troubled them. Wicketkeeper-batsman CM Gautam managed to score a 84-ball 54 but couldn't stick around longer as the tail was warped up quickly.
Basant Mohanty picked up three wickets for Odisha with S Pradhan, Alok Mangaraj, Biplab Samantray and Dhiraj Singh picking a wicket each. In reply, the Odisha batsmen started cautiously but the openers couldn't resist the Karnataka bowlers. They ended the day at 42 runs for the loss of two wickets.
Tamil Nadu vs Punjab 241/6
The absence of Yuvraj Singh didn't seem to have affected the Punjab team as youngsters Manan Vohra and Uday Kaul struck half-centuries in their Ranji Trophy tie against Tamil Nadu in Nagpur. Having won the toss and electing to bat first, Punjab got off to a steady start before a minor hiccup in the middle.
Opener Vohra departed after a well made 73 while Uday Kaul was run out for a well fought 56. Krishnamoorthy Vignesh proved to be the chief destructor for Tamil Nadu as he picked up three wickets and the Punjab team ended day 1 at 241 runs for the loss of six wickets.
Baroda 97 and 63/3 vs Bengal 76
Rohtak's Ch Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium saw wickets falling like nine pins as Baroda and Bengal failed to reach the team total of 100 runs in their first innings. Skipper Manoj Tiwary won the toss and was quick in asking the opposition to bat first. His decision was suitably rewarded as pacer Ashok Dinda rattled through the Baroda line-up by picking up six wickets.
Aditya Waghmode registered the highest score for Baroda with 17 as the Baroda were wrapped up for 97. However, it was even worse for the Bengal team as they could sustain only 27 overs before being bowled out for 76 runs. Atit Sheth emerged as the key bowler for Baroda with figures of 7/36 in his 12 overs.
The second innings seemed to be no different as Baroda lost three quick wickets and ended the first day at 63 for the loss of three wickets with a lead of 84 runs.
Brief scores
Group A
Railways 249/2 vs Madhya Pradesh
Group B
Vidarbha 4/0 vs Saurashtra 301
Maharashtra 353/5 vs Assam
Group C
Services 276/4 vs Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir 270/6 vs Tripura
Goa 197/6 vs Haryana
Hyderabad 267/4 vs Chhattisgarh
Kerala 188/8 vs Andhra
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