Sehwag cracks hundred on bowler-dominated day

Delhi 330 for 7 (Sehwag 106, Chopra 84, Bhatia 55*) v Haryana
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Virender Sehwag shrugged off a horror tour of South Africa with a century on return, leading Delhi to 330 for 7 at the end of the first day at Rohtak. Coming in at No.4, Sehwag's was a controlled effort - easing to 41 off 70 balls before stepping it up to complete his century in 124. He smashed 15 fours in his 160-minute stay and added a vital 112 with Aakash Chopra, who used to open with him a few years ago. Chopra compiled a steady 84, which included ten fours, and there was another half-century from Rajat Bhatia, who was unbeaten at the end of the day. Amit Mishra, Haryana's captain, was the most effective bowler with 3 for 67.

Uttar Pradesh 155 for 4 (Raina 50*) lead Andhra 111 (RP Singh 4-30, Praveen Kumar 4-47) by 44 runs
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Rudra Pratap Singh and Praveen Kumar got four wickets each as Uttar Pradesh bowled out Andhra for 111 inside 38 overs and then lost four wickets to take a lead of 44 on the first day of their Round 7 Ranji Super League match at the Kamla Club in Kanpur.

No Andhra batsman got to even 25 as RP conceded 30 runs and Kumar 47 for their wickets. Praveen bowled Prasad Reddy, the Andhra opener, with the score at 24 and 13 runs later RP had No. 3 batsman Satya Kumar Varma caught behind for four. The highest partnership was for 31 between Manava Prasad and Arjun Kumar for the sixth wicket. RP dismissed Prasad and Syed Sahabuddin in consecutive balls and in the next over Praveen had Arjun caught behind - all three falling with the score at 89.

UP started slow, losing opener Rohit Prakash Srivastava for eight to Sahabuddin. But Suresh Raina, coming in at No. 4, was unbeaten on 50 at the end of day's play. Sahabuddin got two wickets while Vijay Kumar and Mohammad Faiq got one each.

Bengal 80 for 1 trail Rajasthan 193 (Kanwat 62, Bose 6-34) by 113 runs
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Ranadeb Bose, with his second successive six-wicket haul, sliced through Rajasthan's batting line-up as Bengal dominated on the opening day at Kolkata. Bose, the medium-pacer, justified his captain's decision to field first, and along with Sourav Sarkar, shot out Rajasthan for just 193. Sarkar, his new-ball partner in just his third first-class game, ended with an impressive four wickets as the duo wrapped up all the wickets between them. Rahul Kanwat battled amid the ruins with a 63-ball 62 while Ajay Jadeja, the Rajasthan captain, chipped in with a hard-fought 41. Bose's 14th five-wicket performance, though, stole the day.

Hyderabad 145 for 4 lead Punjab 142 (Absolem 7-35) by 3 runs
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Alfred Absolem wrecked Punjab with a seven-wicket haul on the opening day as Hyderabad gained the upperhand in a virtual quarterfinal at Uppal. Choosing to make full use of the pitch, Hyderabad, led by VVS Laxman, decided to bowl first and their medium-pace attack, as it has done all season, delivered. Playing only his sixth first-class game, Absolem snapped up his best figures, cutting a swathe through the strong Punjab line-up. Three of his victims were caught at the wicket and he got two others bowled and lbw. Laxman, with a grafted 44, led a strong Hyderabad reply as they ended the day on 145 for 4.

Mumbai 302 for 3 (Kukreja 114, Jaffer 78, Hiken 69*) v Maharashtra
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Sahil Kukreja cracked his maiden first-class century as Mumbai, who won an important toss, took a firm grip over Maharashtra at Nasik. Kukreja's was a patient knock, stroking 15 fours in his 322 minute stay and he was ably assisted by Wasim Jaffer, who cobbled together a steady 78. Hiken Shah, another newcomer with just one previous match, continued the good work with an unbeaten half-century at the end of the day. Maharashtra's six bowlers toiled hard but managed only three dismissals between them.

Tamil Nadu 13 for 2 trail Baroda 263 (Martin 57, Ashwin 5-65)
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Ravichandran Ashwin, the Tamil Nadu offbreak bowler, got his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as Baroda were bowled out for 263 on the first day of their Ranji clash at the Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai. At stumps TN trailed by 250 runs with eight wickets left.

Ashwin broke the third-wicket partnership between Rakesh Solanki and Baroda captain Jacob Martin worth 110 runs when he bowled Martin, top-scorer for the innings, for 57. In his next two overs he had Himanshu Jadhav and Irfan Pathan caught behind and stumped respectively off Dinesh Karthik. S Vidyut took 3 for 47 including the wicket of Yousuf Pathan for 49.