Ranji Trophy 2018/19: Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh in a strong position, Kerala and Gujarat in exciting battle  

The first day of the 2018/19 Ranji Trophy quarter-finals got underway around the country. It was an amazing day of cricket as tournament debutants Uttarakhand responded well against defending champions Vidarbha after the latter decided to field first.

Uttar Pradesh made steady progress scoring 340 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the second quarter-final at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur against Saurashtra. Karnataka bowled out Rajasthan for 224 runs in the first innings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

The fourth contest between Kerala and Gujarat saw Kerala being bowled out for 185 while Gujarat faltered in their response, at 97 for 4.

---

Vidarbha versus Uttarakhand (VCA Stadium, Nagpur)

Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal won the toss and decided to field first. Uttarakhand was reduced to 44 for 3. VS Panwar and Avneesh Sudha pulled Uttarakhand out of trouble with a brilliant 140 run stand for the 4th wicket.

Panwar was dismissed for well made 67 runs while Sudha was dismissed for 91 runs. Saurabh Rawat and Rangarajan added 60 runs for the 6th wicket. Rawat is still at the crease on 68. Uttarakhand ended the first day at 293 for 6. For Vidarbha, Umesh Yadav, Rajneesh Gurbani, and Akshay Wakhare took 2 wickets each.

---

Uttar Pradesh versus Saurashtra (Green Park Stadium, Kanpur)

Uttar Pradesh captain Akashdeep Nath won the toss and decided to bat first in the second quarter-final against Saurashtra at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur. Uttar Pradesh was reduced to 54 for 4. Priyam Garg and Rinku Singh steadied the UP innings with a brilliant 145 runs stand for the 5th wicket.

Akshdeep Nath

Garg was dismissed for 49 runs. Rinku Singh and UD Yadav steadied the ship with 85 runs stand for the 6th wicket. Rinku Singh was dismissed for 150. Uttar Pradesh ended day 1 on 340 for 7. For Saurashtra, DA Jadeja took 3 wickets while Jaydev Unadkat took 2 wickets.

---

Karnataka versus Rajasthan (M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore)

Karnataka captain Manish Pandey won the toss and decided to field first at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. It was a good bowling effort by Karnataka bowlers to bowl out Rajasthan for 224 in their first innings.

Abhimanyu Mithun

R Bishnoi Senior was the top scorer for Rajasthan with 79 runs. For Karnataka, Abhimanyu Mithun and Krishnappa Gowtham took 3 wickets each while Vinay Kumar and Shreyas Gopal took 2 wickets each. In reply, Karnataka ended the first day at 12 for 0.

---

Gujarat versus Kerala (Krishnagiri Stadium, Waynard)

Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel won the toss and decided to field first. It was a superb bowling effort by Gujarat bowlers to bowl out Kerala for 185 runs in their first innings. Basil Thampi was the top scorer for Kerala with 37 runs.

In reply, Gujarat has lost 4 major wickets with 97 runs on the board. It was a good bowling performance by Kerala bowlers in reply to Gujarat after getting off to an unimpressive start with the bat.