Sehwag, Himanshu Rana steer Haryana past early jitters

Haryana 303 for 6 (Himanshu Rana 138*, Sehwag 92, Fallah 3-48) v Maharashtra
Scorecard

While highlighting the need for their batsmen to apply themselves, Haryana coach Surendra Bhave had on the eve of their Ranji Trophy season-opener pinned his hopes on two individuals. While Virender Sehwag was expected to lead by example in his first match for Haryana, Bhave had earmarked teenager Himanshu Rana as "one to watch out for".

Sehwag and Himanshu both lived up to their reputations, as they kept Haryana in the hunt for a sizeable first-innings total on the opening day of their Group A tie against Maharashtra at the Maharashtra Cricket Association's stadium in Gahunje. Thanks to Himanshu's stubborn knock of 138 not out on his 17th birthday, and Sehwag's breezy 92, Haryana escaped from a precarious 32 for 3 to end the day at 303 for 6.

Sehwag and Himanshu had to first see off Samad Fallah, who was swinging the ball both ways and scalped three of the top four batsmen to leave Haryana in a spot of bother. Once the wicket had eased out, the two batsmen got among the runs. While Sehwag, who batted at No 3, was the star of the first half, Himanshu took over once Sehwag was dismissed, in the 46th over.

Seventeen years ago, Sehwag scored a century the first time he batted in first-class cricket, and right from when he punched Fallah for four off the first ball he faced today, Sehwag appeared to be on course to also mark his Haryana debut with a big score.

With a four-pronged Maharashtra pace attack testing Sehwag's patience by bowling outside off stump, the boundaries did not come frequently. But whenever Fallah, Nikit Dhumal, who was preferred ahead of Anupam Sanklecha, and Shrikant Mundhe bowled close to off-stump, Sehwag's drives and slashes came into play. Once Domnic Joseph started extracting bounce off the wicket, Sehwag targeted the third-man region with his upper-cuts

With Himanshu playing the second fiddle, Sehwag had raced to 72 by lunch, and he continued to accelerate even after the break, hitting Mundhe for two early fours. Sehwag's first mistake came when he was on 87. He slashed Domnic outside off, but Kedar Jadhav could not pouch the resulting edge at first slip. Jadhav did not have to curse himself for long, though.

In the next over, Mundhe managed to jag one back in just a little bit, and Sehwag's tired waft was a bit late. The off-stump was uprooted, forcing a visibly disappointed Sehwag to take the long walk back. Sehwag missed out on a hundred, but Himanshu ensured there was a three-figure mark on the opening day for his team.

Himanshu found an able ally in wicketkeeper Nitin Saina after the debutant Rahul Dagar was run out by Chirag Khurana at forward short leg. Himanshu played a risk-free innings, focusing on singles, but also not letting a scoring opportunity go. The shot of the day came in the second session, when his straight-batted backfoot punch off Mundhe raced through the covers.

The nervous nineties could have hit Haryana hard had Khurana caught a lofted shot off Himanshu's edge at midwicket . Himanshu was on 95 then. He went on to reach his century, but soon after, had another lapse in concentration. However, an edge off Khurana went begging as Maharashtra's captain-keeper Rohit Motwani spilled a regulation catch. Then on, Himanshu put his head down and ensured he carried his bat into the second day, keeping Haryana's hopes of crossing 350 alive.