Ali and Bundela prop up Madhya Pradesh
A summary of matches on the first day of the latest round in the Ranji Trophy
Cricinfo staff
24-Nov-2005
Abbas Ali and Devendra Bundela stitched together a 147-run partnership for the fourth wicket to lift Madhya Pradesh from a shaky 41 for 3 to 241 for 5 at the end of the opening day at Indore. Choosing to bat first, MP were rocked by an initial burst from Sanjay Gill, who shifted from Delhi this season, but Ali, the grandson of the legendary Indian opener Mushtaq, and Bundela bided their time and repaired the damage. Both missed out on the centuries but they had kept the Ajay Jadeja led Rajasthan at bay for 66 overs.
Vidharba 68 for 6 (Thakur 4-22) trail Himachal Pradesh 163 (Sandeep Singh 4-28, Naidu 4-50) by 95 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Bowlers dominated the first day of the Ranji Trophy Plate match between Vidharbha and Himachal Pradesh at Nagpur. Himachal, after choosing to bat, were shot out for 163 by Sandeep Singh and Alind Naidu, the medium-pacers, and it was only owing to a 53-run eighth-wicket stand between P Dogra and VK Sharma that they reached a fighting score. The partnership proved crucial - Vidharbha were tottering at 68 for 6 with Thakur claiming 4 for 22.
Powered by Kamlesh Makvana's five-wicket haul, Saurashtra shot out Tripura for a paltry 106 before reaching 36 for no loss by close of first day's play at Agartala. Tripura, after opting to bat first, lost the openers inside three overs and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. That 26 was the highest partnership they could manage reflects the stranglehold that Makvana and other Saurashtra bowlers had on the Tripura batsmen.
Debasis Mohanty, the former Indian swing bowler, speared through the Goa top order as they were bowled out for 235 on the opening day of the season at Margoa. Mohanty and Deepak Mangaraj, his opening partner, snared six wickets between them as Goa's decision to bat first backfired. Mandar Phadke's 97 saved Goa from embarrassment and it was owing to a 40-run last-wicket partnership between Avinash Aware and SB Yadav that they reached a respectable 235.
Two half-centuries from Sajjad and Dhruv Mahajan steered Jammu & Kashmir on the opening day at Jammu but the Jharkhand bowlers made sure the game didn't completely slip away. Choosing to bat first, J&K rode on Sajjad's 51 before Manzoor Dar, who made a patient 49, and Mahajan consolidated their position. Mahajan was out in a freakish manner, after he hit the ball twice and Jharkhand fought back through Shiv Shankar Rao, the medium-pacer, and Shahid Khan, their left-arm spinner. Both finished with five wickets between them as J&K were kept down to 261 for 8 at the end of the day.