Jadhav century carries Assam
A round-up of the first day's play of the fourth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League 2009-10
Cricinfo staff
01-Dec-2009
Group A
Dheeraj Jadhav's first century for his new state side helped Assam to a healthy score at the end of the first day's play in Guwahati. Amol Muzumdar's decision to bat against Tripura was vindicated by Jadhav's innings, which consumed 279 deliveries over 358 minutes, but there was a lack of firepower from the rest of Assam's batsmen. Amit Sumanta Sinha, batting at No.3 on debut, made 42 and Muzumdar 40, but Timir Chanda's four wickets gave the visitors some lift. From 244 for 3, Assam slipped to 256 for 7 by stumps.
Each of the six batsmen to walk to the crease on the opening day at Dhandad got a start, and without any of them really imposing themselves Goa finished in a dominant position. Swapnil Asnodkar made a solid 59 at the top, followed by 69 from the captain Sridharan Sriram, before Ajay Ratra collected a breezy 73 from 87 deliveries by the close. Asnodkar and Sriram's half-centuries laid the platform, aided by a dogged 40 from Reagan Pinto, and allowed Ratra to walk out and sting the Jharkhand attack. Unlike those before him, Ratra will eye a century as Goa attempt to really shut out the opposition.
Rajasthan's bowlers kept Vidarbha under wraps in Jaipur yet failed to bowl them out on day one. It was a slow day, with no batsman crossing 50 against a tidy bowling attack. Sumit Mathur (20-8-31-2) and Madhur Khatri (23-12-32-1) plugged away manfully and hardly allowed a run, while Vinod Chanawaria netted 2 for 28 from 12 overs. Ravi Jangid found himself needing to shore up the responsibility after Vidarbha's top order stumbled, and by stumps had stonewalled himself to an unbeaten 45 from 207 deliveries.
Group B
Madhya Pradesh 117 for 2 (Saxena 70*) trail Jammu & Kashmir 171 (Sudhindra 5-39) by 54 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
TP Sudhindra's first substantial contribution on return to Ranji Trophy cricket from the ICL put Madhya Pradesh in an advantageous position by stumps in Indore. Sudhindra, sharing the new ball, took a career-best 5 for 39 from 20 stifling overs of medium pace to help dismiss Jammu & Kashmir out for 171. Sudhindra got the ball rolling in the second over, dismissing Vinayak Mane for 1, and soon had J&K reeling at 33 for 3. His maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket came later when he got Abid Nabi for 20. The best score from J&K was Hardeep Singh's 41 from the No. 7 spot. In reply, the opener Jalaj Saxena batted for an unbeaten 70 as MP finished day one just 58 runs behind J&K.
Boosted by left-arm seamer Tekkami Atchuti Rao's career-best haul, Andhra dominated the first day in Anantapur. Haryana captain Sunny Singh opted to bat but laboured 61 deliveries for 9 amid a top-order slump that left the side 30 for 4 after 20.1 overs. Rao struck twice at the top and chipped away when recalled later in the innings and finished with 5 for 43. Sachin Rana's 57 from 150 deliveries was the best any Haryana batsman could muster. In the 12 overs before stumps, Andhra's openers stoutly added 17 runs.