Rajastan struggle on opening day against Andhra

Andhra Pradesh have made a promising start in their vital Elite Group sixth round match against Rajasthan. By the end of the first day's play at the Ukku Stadium, Visakhapatnam, the hosts, who are battling to avoid being relegated to the Plate Group, had managed to restrict the visitors to 195/8.

It was quite a fall for Rajasthan, who were 120-2 at one stage after their skipper Rahul Kanwat won the toss and elected to bat.

Openers Vineet Saxena and Gagan Khoda put on nine runs before Khoda was forced to retire with an injury.

The veteran opener was, though, soon back in action following the dismissals Anshu Jain (10) and Nikhil Doru (1). If the injury had rattled him, Khoda showed no signs of it, as he and Saxena began to establish command. The duo guided their team to 120-2, when Khoda fell for a patient 56 off 131 balls.

It was a dismissal that was to precitipate a collapse which saw the visitors lose another five wickets for 73 runs. Saxena, for his part, went on to make 64 off 201 balls with eight fours before becoming the fifth wicket to fall.

For Andhra Pradesh, off-spinner Mohammed Faiq returned the best figures of 2-28.