RESULT
Group A, Indore, November 02 - 05, 2012, Ranji Trophy
355 & 301/6d
(T:407) 250 & 258/7

Match drawn

Report

Punjab openers punish Hyderabad

A wrap of the second day of the first round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

File photo: Wriddhiman Saha's fighting 59 took Bengal to 258  •  Dainik Dabang Dunia

File photo: Wriddhiman Saha's fighting 59 took Bengal to 258  •  Dainik Dabang Dunia

Rajasthan63 for 4 (Shukla 2-7, Sarkar 2-26) trail Bengal 258 (Das 95, Saha 59, Pankaj Singh 5-50) by 195 runs
Scorecard
Bengal wrested back the advantage they appeared to have ceded in the first session of the day by picking up early Rajasthan wickets at the Eden Gardens. Double-wicket strikes by Sourav Sarkar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla reduced Rajasthan to 63 for 4 off 31 overs in deteriorating light.
Stumps were called early for the second day in a row as only 50.4 overs were possible today. Rajasthan needed only 19.4 off those to wrap up the Bengal innings as the last six wickets fell for only 71 runs. Overnight batsman Anustup Majumdar was out in the first over of the day bowled by Pankaj Singh but with Shukla to accompany Wriddhiman Saha in the middle, Bengal were still ahead. Rituraj Singh then triggered a collapse, picking up two in an over while Pankaj completed his five-for. Bengal wouldn't have made it to their eventual 258 had Saha not played a fighting 59. But on a day in which seamers caused most problems in overcast conditions, Bengal's own have put them slightly ahead.
Punjab 243 for 0 (Jiwanjot 116*, Goel 106*) trail Hyderabad 258 (Reddy 63, Gony 4-60, Amitoze 3-33) by 15 runs
Scorecard
Punjab's debutant opener, Jiwanjot SIngh, and Karan Goel both scored centuries to push Hyderabad to the brink in Mohali. Their 243-run opening stand is only 58 short of the opening record for Punjab - 301, set by Navjot Sidhu and Vikram Rathour, against Himachal in 1995-96.
The day began with Hyderabad struggling at 244 for 7, and it took Punjab only 6.3 overs to wipe the rest out. Sandeep Sharma's two late wickets denied Manpreet Gony a five-for, but no one would have complained. Not even Harbhajan Singh, who went wicketless in his 21 overs. His team had done a satisfactory job.
Hyderabad toiled for 81 long overs without success; 23 of those were bowled by India spinner Pragyan Ojha. Neither of the Punjab openers was in any hurry - they both struck at under 50 per 100 balls. Three days short of his 22nd birthday, Jiwanjot gifted himself with a maiden century, hitting 19 fours. And for Goel, this was his third three-figures score at first-class level.
Madhya Pradesh 212 for 8 (Ojha 71, Amit 3-44) trail Gujarat 355 (Parthiv 162, Rajan 7-77) by 143 runs
Scorecard
Gujarat took important steps towards a first-innings lead in Indore even though they collapsed spectacularly to lose their last five wickets for just 13 runs. Defending 355, they kept taking wickets frequently, including the important one of Naman Ojha, who fell for 71 shortly before stumps. Gujarat now needed two wickets for under 143 to take first-innings points.
Medium-pacer Anand Rajan engineered a roaring comeback for MP with a career-best 7 for 77 as MP took the last five wickets in just 4.4 overs. However, their batsmen couldn't quite capitalise, and only Ojha touched 50. Amit Singh took three for Gujarat.
Railways 86 for 2 (Bangar 36*, Bhille 21*, Agarkar 2-20) trail Mumbai 570 (Tendulkar 137, Rahane 129, Nayar 107*) by 484 runs
Scorecard
Mumbai tightened their hold over the contest against Railways at the Wankhede Stadium, amassing a formidable first-innings total and then making early inroads with the ball. Abhishek Nayar became the third centurion of Mumbai's innings, following Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane who had hit tons on the opening day, and received much assistance from the lower order in stretching the team total and approaching his own landmark. Mumbai bat deep and they scored quickly, and their captain Ajit Agarkar bowled sharply to dismiss the Railways openers. Click here to read the full report.

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Ranji Trophy

Group A
TEAMMWLDPTQuotient
PNJB8422321.276
SAU8215231.198
MUM8107231.423
GUJ8206220.922
RLYS8206210.962
MP8224201.035
BENG8143130.805
RAJ8035110.741
HYD8026100.800
Group B
TEAMMWLDPTQuotient
UP8404331.365
BRODA8215221.019
KNTKA8215211.081
DELHI8233201.251
VIDAR8206200.840
ODSA8242160.825
TN8116140.947
HRYNA8134140.790
MAHA8035110.930
Group C
TEAMMWLDPTQuotient
SVCS8215261.198
JHK8323241.068
AP8107241.089
ASSAM8224210.893
KER8215191.082
GOA8008161.119
J + K8233150.772
HP8017151.284
TPURA8134100.691