Report

Smit Patel makes maiden first-class hundred

A round-up of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy's Group A matches on December 1, 2012

Gujarat 254 for 2 (Smit 114, Gohel 85) v Hyderabad
Scorecard
Smit Patel, the India Under-19 wicketkeeper, made his maiden first-class century in only his fifth game to lead a strong Gujarat batting performance against Hyderabad in Valsad. Smit and Samit Gohel, who made 85, put on 163 upfront before the latter fell. Bhargav Merai joined Smit and the two added another 87. Smit, who had fifties in his first four first-class games, was finally dismissed for 114 off 240 deliveries, having struck 15 fours. Merai was unbeaten on 45 as Gujarat ended on a comfortable 254 for 2.
Mumbai 262 for 7 (Jaffer 80, Nayar 62, Shukla 4-35) v Bengal
Scorecard
Wasim Jaffer returned from the Haj pilgrimage and immediately showed how important he still is to the Mumbai line-up, his 80 taking them to 262 for 7 against a spirited Bengal side at Brabourne Stadium. The visitors chose to bowl on a wicket which had some grass, and Laxmi Shukla exploited it to take 4 for 35. Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma lasted seven deliveries before he became Shukla's second victim. Jaffer and Abhishek Nayar (62) steadied Mumbai from 46 for 3 but Shukla returned to remove Jaffer, and Nayar played on to Veer Pratap Singh. Mumbai lost two more wickets before Dhawal Kulkarni took them past 250.
Punjab 20 for 1 trail Rajasthan 222 (Yadav 57, S Kaul 4-63) by 202 runs
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SIddarth Kaul picked up four wickets as Punjab continued their red-hot form to dismiss defending champions Rajasthan for 222 in Mohali. Only Puneet Yadav was able to make a fifty as the Punjab medium-pace trio of Kaul, Baltej Singh and Sandeep Sharma picked up a combined nine wickets. Dishant Yagnik, Ashok Menaria and Deepak Chahar all made thirties, but none of them could carry on. Rajasthan fast bowler Pankaj Singh struck in his third over as Punjab ended on 20 for 1. Punjab have won three of their four games this season and drawn the fourth.
Saurashtra 227 for 4 (Jadeja111*, Kotak 53*) v Railways
Scorecard
Ravindra Jadeja already has a triple hundred and a six-for this season. He added another century to that against Railways in Rajkot as Saurashtra reached 227 for 4. Sanjay Bangar and Krishnakant Upadhyay took two wickets each to reduce Saurashtra to 90 for 4 but Jadeja found support in veteran Shitanshu Kotak. The duo put on an unbeaten 137 with Jadeja hitting 12 boundaries during his 111 off 224 balls. Kotak, as usual, was more sedate, making 53 off 133.