Andhra restrict Bengal to a modest first-innings total

Rain had a major say on the opening day (February 1) of the seventh and final round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group matches, affecting as many as six out of the seven games. The sole exception was the Bengal-Andhra encounter at Kolkata in which the hosts, who were sent into bat, were skittled out for 189. Nikhil Haldipur (59) and Subhomoy Das (47) were the only batsmen to make any headway against a successful Andhra attack for whom D Kalyan Krishna claimed three wickets. At stumps, Andhra were eight for no loss in reply.

In another match at Ahmedabad, Orissa opener BBCC Mohapatra scored an unbeaten 149 to guide his team to a position of strength against hosts Gujarat on a rain-affected first day. Mohapatra's partner and former India opener Shiv Sunder Das was the other batsman to make a mark. The latter made 60 during the course of a 174-run first wicket partnership before being dismissed.

In the Delhi-Hyderabad encounter, meanwhile, it was the turn of the elegant VVS Laxman to enthrall the sparse crowd, who stayed on at the Feroz Shah Kotla despite play starting rather late following a damp outfield. The newly anointed India A skipper made 76 classy runs to guide his team to 169/4 in the 55 overs that were possible on the day. D Vinay Kumar, who made an unbeaten 56, was the other star for the visitors. Ambati Rayudu (17) was a notable failure.

In Guwahati, Uttar Pradesh were 155/4 against hosts Assam when drizzle and bad light led to play being called off early. Opener R Prakash, who made 46, and middle-order bat R Shamshad, who was unbeaten on 38, were the top-scorers for the visitors.

The Tamil Nadu-Punjab game at Mohali, for its part, saw just 22.2 overs being bowled. In the period when play was possible, Tamil Nadu had managed to reduce the hosts, whome they had sent in to bat, to 58/3. Pankaj Dharmani (3*) and Gagandeep Singh (0*) were holding fort when play ended. For Tamil Nadu, MR Shrinivas claimed two wickets for just 13 runs.

Play on the opening day of two other matches - Railways v Himachal Pradesh at New Delhi and Mumbai and Rajasthan at Jaipur - was completely washed out.