Himachal Pradesh bats steadily

Century partnerships for the first and third wickets gave Himachal Pradesh a solid start against Haryana on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy league match at the Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium in Rohtak.

Himachal Pradesh won the toss and opted to bat first on a wicket that offered nothing to the bowlers. The opening pair of Nischal Gaur and Sandeep Sharma added exactly 100 runs for the first wicket, in 123 minutes and off 182 balls. Sharma made 61 off 86 balls and was the first to fall. After the dismissal of Gaur (45) for an addition of just 19 runs, the in-form Rajiv Nayyar and Sangram Singh put on 113 runs without being separated until the close of play.

At stumps, Sangram Singh was unbeaten with 71, and Rajiv Nayyar was batting on 47, playing slower than his partner. For Haryana, Sumit Narwal and Amit Mishra captured one wicket each. Himachal Pradesh ended the day on 232 for 2.