2017-18 Ranji Trophy: 5 best performers from the first round

The first round of the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy came to an end earlier today with few matches producing a thrilling finish. Saurashtra were the only team to have won with a bonus point while Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Railways registered an outright win.

One of the pre-tournament favourites Tamil Nadu survived a big scare at the hands of Andhra Pradesh in spite of having Indian internationals R Ashwin, Murali Vijay and Abhinav Mukund in their team as the opposition fell short by 20 runs and the match ended in a draw.

There were a lot of fine performances that took place in the first round. Let us take a look at the five best performers of this round.

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#5 Abhishek Gupta

Punjab Coach Ajay Ratra (extreme left) with all three debutants including Abhishek Gupta (extreme right)

After conceding 729 runs in the first innings against Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab openers started strongly as they put on a 105-run partnership in 25 overs before Pargat Singh was dismissed for 64. Uday Kaul departed soon after and skipper Jiwanjot Singh and debutant Anmolpreet Singh pulled things back by scoring their individual fifties.

But, the visitors lost both these men, Gurkeerat Mann and Mayank Siddana at regular intervals as GK Singh's spell reduced them to 274/5 with a follow-on looming large. It was then when two debutants, Abhishek Gupta and Abhishek Sharma joined hands at the crease.

While India's under-19 all-rounder Abhishek Sharma was patient throughout his innings, Abhishek Gupta played a counter-attacking innings and reached his century off just 90 balls. Soon after reaching his century, Gupta lost Sharma, who was dismissed for 94 and with that, their 239-run partnership for the seventh wicket came to an end.

Gupta didn't stop there as he made sure that his team negated the follow-on and reached his double century on debut at run a ball and departed three balls later for 202. Though he did not help his team take a first-innings lead, his innings of 202 off 203 balls that included 25 fours and five sixes, made sure that Punjab didn't succumb in the first innings.

#4 Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf was on fire for Baroda against MP

The Baroda batsman had a miserable 2017 IPL and in all likelihood, he won't be retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise. But, the right-hander made a strong statement in the Ranji Trophy opener against Madhya Pradesh in Indore as he hit two centuries in two innings and saved Baroda from an innings defeat.

After conceding 551 runs bowling first, Baroda were reeling at 54/3 when Yusuf walked out to bat. An over later, it became 54/4 and Irfan joined his elder brother at the crease. The out of favour Indian internationals played a counter-attacking game as they took on the attack to the opposition. Yusuf played his natural game and reached his century with a six off just 113 balls.

Soon after, the duo's 188-run partnership for the fifth wicket came to an end after Irfan was dismissed for 80. Exactly one over later, Yusuf's 125-ball 111 innings came to an end as well. He hit 13 boundaries and six sixes during his stay at the crease.

Baroda were dismissed for 302 in the first innings, handing MP a lead of 249 and were forced to follow-on. Yet again, Baroda's top-order failed as Yusuf walked out to bat at 50/4 and it became 68/7 soon after with Irfan back in the hut. Yusuf used all his experience and started off cautiously.

He, along with Atit Sheth, rescued their team from losing by an innings as they put on a 218-run partnership for the eighth wicket before the latter was dismissed for 109. In the meantime, Yusuf reached his century off 122 balls, his slowest in Ranji Trophy and saved his side from an innings defeat. He remained unbeaten on 136 off 154 balls with the help of 16 fours and seven sixes.

Eventually, MP beat Baroda by eight wickets, thanks to the huge first innings total.

#3 Shubham Sharma

Shubham Sharma (left) walks back to the pavilion after the end of a session

In the previous slide, we saw how MP's first innings' total played a big role in earning them an easy victory. The chief architect of the win was batsman Shubham Sharma, who scored a valiant 196 off 394 to take his team to a strong position.

After being put into bat, MP were reduced to 69/4 in the first session when Shubham joined his skipper Davendra Bundela at the crease. Both the batsmen batted cautiously as they pulled things back on track for their team.

After reaching his fifty off 146 balls, Shubham started to bat more freely and kept finding the gaps in the field. He lost his captain off the last ball of day one for 99 after sharing a 199-run partnership with him.

That didn't stop the 23-year-old as he reached his century off 239 balls and still looked strong. With Ankit Sharma giving him support from the other end, Shubham kept scoring runs and looked set for a double century. It was then when Swapnil Singh had Shubham caught by Atit Sheth four runs short of his maiden first-class double century.

Shubham departed for 196 with the help of 23 fours and Ankit's century, along with some useful contributions from the tailenders, took their team to 551/8 when Bundela declared the innings.

This was enough for the hosts as they bundled out Baroda for 302 and 318 in both their innings and chased down 73 in the fourth innings to earn an eight-wicket win.

#2 Jalaj Saxena

Jalaj Saxena stole the show once again

Jalaj Saxena is one of those unlucky cricketers who never really made it big despite doing well in the Indian domestic circuit. He has been one of the most consistent performers for both Madhya Pradesh and Kerala over the last few years.

Saxena started the 2017-18 season on a positive note as his all-round show led Kerala to victory in their first-round match against Jharkhand in Trivandrum. After choosing to bat first, the visitors found themselves in a spot of bother as Jalaj ran through their batting order and restricted them for just 202 in the first innings. He ended the innings with figures of 6-50.

When Kerala were 120/5, his unbeaten 54 not only made sure that his team crossed Jharkhand's total but also gave them a crucial 57-run first-innings lead. He followed it up with an outstanding spell of spin bowling as his 5-27 helped his team bundle their opponents out for just 89 in the second innings.

The Kerala batsmen had no trouble in chasing 33 in the fourth innings and gave them an eight-wicket win.

#1 Prashant Chopra

Prashant Chopra celebrates a milestone during his knock

Though his knock didn't help his team register a win, Himachal Pradesh's Prashant Chopra was easily the best performer of the first round of the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy.

After choosing to bat first on a flat track at Dharamsala, HP lost the wicket of PS Khanduri early. But, Prashant Chopra continued from where he left off in the previous season and played his natural game to take the game away from Punjab on the very first day.

Prashant, who scored 978 runs in 17 innings at an average of 58 last season, registered the first century of this year's tournament soon after lunch on day one, taking just 111 balls to reach the milestone. One thing that made him stand out among others last season was the rate at which he scored his runs (strike-rate of 85) and the case was no different in the first match of this season.

He reached his 200 off just 215 balls and remained unbeaten on 271 when the play came to an end on day one. He continued his assault on the Punjab bowlers on day 2 as he reached his triple-century off just 318 balls and looked hungry for more. His 363-ball vigil came to an end when he was dismissed by Pargat Singh for 338 that included 44 fours and two sixes.

That took his team to 729/8 in the first innings and earned his team three points from the clash, thanks to their 128-run first-innings lead.