Rakesh Patel and Zaheer Khan destroy Punjab

A summary of the first day in the latest round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group

25-Dec-2005

Baroda 80 for 1 trail Punjab 130 by 50 runs
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Rakesh Patel and Zaheer Khan shared nine wickets between them as they ripped apart Punjab for 130 before Connor Williams (46 not out) guided Baroda to a position of strength at 80 for 1 at close on the opening day's play in Vadodara. Patel and Khan, who was selected for the Indian squad to tour Pakistan, left Punjab tottering at 68 for 7 before a 62-run partnership between Amit Uniyal and Gagandeep Singh lifted them past the 100-mark.

Delhi 117 for 7 (Kartik 5 for 38) lead Railways 77 (Sachdeva 5-20) by 40 runs
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It was a spinner's day out at Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi as 17 wickets fell on the opening day of the Elite Ranji Trophy match between Railways and Delhi. Yogesh Sachdeva, the debutant, grabbed a five-wicket haul to spin out Railways for a paltry 77 in their own backyard before Murali Kartik hit back with a five-for reducing Delhi to 117 for 7 at stumps. Sachdeva, the left-arm spinner, was ably assisted by Chetanya Nanda, the legspinner, who grabbed 3 for 19. Delhi were guided by Shikhar Dhiwan, the opener who made 38, to a comfortable 96 for 3 before Kartik, the left-arm spinner ignored for the Indian tour of Pakistan, engineered a collapse. Kartik removed the India openers - Virender Sehwag, who came to bat in the middle order, and Gautam Gambhir - on his way to 5 for 38 but Delhi with a vital first-innings lead had their nose in front at the close of play. It's a crunch game for both Railways, who have just 4 points in four games, and Delhi, who have only 2 points in four games.

Karnataka 255 for 7 (Uthappa 96) v Maharashtra
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All bowlers chipped in as Maharashtra, placed at the sixth position in the Elite `A' group, restricted Karnataka, well placed at 163 for 1, to 255 for 7 by the end of the opening day at Bangalore. Robin Uthappa, the opener, had charged Karnataka, opting to bat first, to a comfortable position with a well-made 96 before he fell and triggered a collapse in the middle order. "I am disappointed with our last game against Bengal in Mysore. We need to win this game here," Sujith Somasunder, the Karnataka captain, had told the reporters ahead of the match and he would have been a disappointed man by the end of the day's play. Earlier, Anil Kumble chose not to play this tie, preferring to take rest after the three-match series against Sri Lanka.

Mumbai 372 for 6 (Jaffer 162, Shetty 52*) v Tamil Nadu
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Mumbai rode on Wasim Jaffer's superb 162 to reach a commanding 372 for 6 by the end of the first day's play against Tamil Nadu at Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai. He was assisted by an unbeaten half-century from Nishit Shetty, the left-hand batsman, and 30s from Amol Muzumdar and Vinit Indulkar in the middle order. Hemang Badani, the Tamil Nadu captain, tried seven bowlers in all but couldn't taste success on a day when Jaffer decided to celebrate his selection to the Indian squad to tour Pakistan with a fine ton.

Bengal 195 for 3 (Jhunjhunwala 72, Arindam Das 64) v Gujarat
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Patient half-centuries from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Arindam Das saw Bengal plod their way to 195 for 3 by the end of the opening day's play against Gujarat at Surat. Jhunjhunwala, the debutant, hit 72 off 204 balls and was involved in a 98-run stand for the second wicket with Arindam, the opener.

Hyderabad 43 for 1 v Services 196 (Kaushik Reddy 5-57, Reddy 4-28)
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Kaushik Reddy and Inder Shekar Reddy tormented Services with seam and spin respectively to dismiss them for 196 before Hyderabad reached 43 for 1 at stumps to dominate the opening day's play at Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad. The Reddys, who shared nine wickets between them, had left Services reeling at 111 for 7 before AK Mohanty (36) and Arun Sharma (40) added 76 runs for the eight wicket to lift their side to a respectable score.

Haryana 196 for 6 v Andhra
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A disciplined bowling performance - Syeb Sahabuddin, Gnaneswara Rao and I Raju picked up two wickets apiece - after opting to field first helped Andhra restrict Haryana to 196 for 6 by the end of the first day's play at Anantapur. Sachin Rana hit a half-century and shared an 86-run partnership with Siddharth Verma (45) for the fourth wicket to lift Haryana from a shaky 26 for 3.