Mithun stuns Odisha top order
A round-up of the first day's play of Group A's fifth round matches from the Ranji Trophy
ESPNcricinfo staff
28-Nov-2013
Abhimanyu Mithun ripped through the Odisha top order to leave them tottering at 66 for 6 before a superb rearguard led by Abhilash Mallick gave Odisha's total some respectability. With six of the top eight batsmen being dismissed in single digits, Odisha were at 66 for 7 before Mallick began a recovery act with the lower order. Both Alok Sahoo and Basant Mohanty stuck around for over an hour each to support Mallick, who did most of the scoring in the two stands that yielded 106 runs. Mallick missed out on what would have been a maiden century, trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Abrar Kazi on 98. That brought in the debutant Suryakant Pradhan, who slammed three fours and three sixes in a 28-ball 34 that lifted Odisha beyond 200.
On a day of slow progress in Jamshedpur, half-centuries from Rameez Nemat and Saurabh Tiwary took Jharkhand to 194 for 5 against table-toppers Gujarat. This was Tiwary's fifth 50-plus score in his previous six Ranji innings this season. Nemat and Tiwary came together after Jharkhand lost two wickets in the first hour, and they put on a patient 133 to steer the side to 168 for 2. With less than 14 overs to go till stumps, it was overwhelmingly Jharkhand's day, but Gujarat hit back with three late strikes to even up the contest.
Lahli, the setting for Sachin Tendulkar's final domestic game, became the scene for a memorable comeback. Five years after he last played a first-class game, Punjab fast bowler VRV Singh returned to the domestic circuit and took a five-for, routing Haryana for 163. The hosts, however, hit right back, grabbing three Punjab wickets, including that of Jiwanjot Singh before the end of the day. Read the full report here.
Wasim Jaffer's landmark 50th first-class hundred rescued Mumbai on the first day of their maiden Ranji Trophy clash against Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium. Riding on Jaffer's unbeaten 133, Mumbai ended the opening day of the Group A league clash at 254 for 8.
Read the full report here.