Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round I, Day 2

5.20pm Another good day of Ranji Trophy comes to an end. There are a few matches headed for close first-innings results tomorrow. Haryana-Vidarbha, Jharkhand-J&k and UP-Delhi could hurtle towards outright results too. Today was the day for newbies. UP's Mukul Dagar and Punjab's Jiwanjot Singh notched maiden centuries. Youngsters Karan Goel, from Punjab, and Himachal's Paras Dogra got one each too. Old hand Dheeraj Jadhav brought up the first double of the season. And don't forget Panjak Singh's 15th five-for, in only 65 matches. Pragyan Ojha, with 23 wicketless overs, has beaten Harbhajan's 21 in the same match. Tomorrow promises a lot. Do join us again. Cheers

5pm - Time to draw stumps elsewhere And finally, in Mumbai, captain Ajit Agarkar has followed up Abhishek Nayar's century with two wickets to put Mumbai in control. Railways are now 86 fr 2 in reply to Mumbai's 570. You can read Agarkar's interview with Amol Karhadkar here

In Lahli, Umesh Yadav has nipped Haryana's comeback in the bud. They are now 103 for 3, and still need 47 to make Vidarbha bat. This match could be over tomorrow

In Mohali, openers Jiwanjot Singh and Karan Goel are grounding Hyderabad into dust. At 243 for no loss, they are 16 runs from taking first-innings lead, and 58 from the opening partnership record for Punjab, between Vikram Rathour and Navjot Sidhu, who is currently an inmate in the Indian version of Big Brother

In Ghaziabad, Delhi have come back a little but UP are still favourably placed with a lead of 57 and fur wickets in hand. Raina is not out on 19. The highlight of the day remains Mukul Dagar's maiden century and Kaif's 91

Vadodara is set for a close fight over first-innings lead between Karnataka and Baroda. In reply to Baroda's 406, Karnataka are 148 for. Robin Uthappa is unbeaten on 67

In Srinagar, Jharkhand have taken a 149-run lead over J&K, and will want to seal an outright win tomorrow

In Anantapur, poor weather has meant we haven't seen the end of even one innings. Services are 256 for 8 against Andhra

4.45pm - Himachal take lead Paras Dogra has fallen after reaching his hundred, but Himachal's 235 for 3 has already crossed Kerala's paltry 229 in Dharamsala. They will now look to bat Kerala out and start pushing for an outright win

4.40pm - Punjab openers eye records Karan Goel has now followed debutant Jiwanjot Singh to a century. Their unbeaten 235-run opening stand is now just 66 short of the Punjab record, 301 by Vikram Rathour and Navjot Sidhu

4.35pm - Now for some spectator experience Cricinfo's Devashish Fuloria watched today's play from the stands at Wankhede. Here is how he sums up his experience:

"The Vijay Merchant Stand at the Wankhede Stadium was chock-a-block with a youngish crowd today and even though there was no Sachin Tendulkar to cheer for, the Mumbai fans got plenty of action. Okay, there were still a lot of seats available and the number of spectators might have been below 2000 but the crowd made itself noticeable. Ajinkya Rahane got a standing ovation after he was out and he raised his bat towards the stand, so did Abhishek Nayar after getting to his landmarks. The crowd kept itself entertained by interacting with fielders close to the boundary and in matches like these, the players are bound to hear every remark hurled in their direction. It was all well-mannered and in good spirit, though.

The Wankhede offers a decent viewing experience with covered and ventilated stands and could have done a little better with the availability of drinking water. But since getting in and out is easier, going out for a quick stroll was not a problem. The only other issue was that since the main scoreboard was not functional, you had to squint your eyes to read the scores off a small scoreboard in another corner of the ground."

4.30pm - No country for classical spinners Sid Talya from Wankhede: "Ramesh Powar's first over is taken for 21 runs. Three fours and a six over midwicket, courtesy Sanjay Bangar and Nitin Bhille. Bangar took him for two fours and a six"

4.25pm - stumps are being drawn It's stumps at Eden Gardens. No play since that stoppage in the middle session. Rajasthan 63 for 4 against Bengal's 258. This is a good game, but might end up being reduced to a one-innings contest by bad light

In Guwahati, Tripura are struggling at 72 for 3 after Assam piled up 450, thanks largely to the first double-century of the season, by Dheeraj Jadhav

No action in the rainy Cuttack today. So Tamil Nadu still 66 for 2 against Odisha. Play was called off at 11.45am

4.20pm - Delhi fight back With four wickets for 36 runs, Sumit Narwal and Delhi have reduced UP to 268 for 5, but that's still a lead of 33 runs for the hosts. Suresh Raina is batting on five, and the word is, bouncers at Delhi night clubs are all headed towards Ghaziabad

4.10pm - Haryana show fight Trailing by 150 in the first innings, Haryana have reached 84 for 1 in Lalhi. If they can bat exceptionally well, they have enough time to try to reverse this deficit into an outright win

4pm - Century watch And now it's debutant Jiwanjot Singh of Punjab. Eighteen fours in his 101 not out against Hyderabad. En route to a big lead again. Punjab 202 for no loss against Hyderabad's 258

Paras Dogra has scored a hundred for Himachal, in response to Kerala's 229. At 195 for 2, Himachal are on their way to push for an outright win.

3.40pm - Captain Agarkar strikes first an Wankhede Kaustubh Pawar needn’t worry much now. The batsmen he let off are both back in the pavilion, and he’s had a part of play in both their dismissals. First Paunikar, and now Shivkant Shukla – pushes at one in the channel outside off and offers a straightforward catch to Kaustubh at third slip. Shukla’s gone for 18. Railways, after 13.1 overs, are 31 for 2. Both wickets to Ajit

3.25pm - Ojha key for MP Wicketkeepers have generally had a good time in the first round. Parthiv Patel scored 162, Wriddhiman Saha scored a fifty and took a nice low catch diving forward, and now it's up to Naman Ojha to take MP close to a lead against Gujarat. MP are 141 for 4, in reply to Gujarat's 355. Ojha has fought for 54 over more than four hours

3.20pm - A drop off Zaheer Says Sid Talya: "Kaustubh Pawar has had a tough day in the field already, and Mumbai have been out just for 20 minutes. He has put down two chances, both to his left. The first was off left-hand opener Shivakant Shukla, a tough, low chance off the bowling of Dhawal Kulkarni. The second was off Zaheer Khan’s bowling: a short-of-a-length delivery that just left the batsman, and Amit Paunikar nicked it. Kaustubh dived low to his left but couldn’t hold on. Both openers have had reprieves. Shukla was on 5, Paunikar on 4.

3pm - Smell the leather, maan In his first over, Zaheer Khan has bowled two bouncers to Railways opener Amit Paunikar

Over in Ghaziabad, Sehwag is still off the field. Nehra, though, is back, and Gambhir is captaining

2.50pm - now for updates from Mumbai and Ghaziabad Sid Talya: "Zaheer Khan is bowled by Anureet Singh for 16. That ends Mumbai’s innings, 570 all out, 652 minutes, 151 overs. Nayar is unbeaten on 107 off 164 balls, 279 minutes. Ten fours and two sixes. During a game last year, he’d been stranded on 191. Murali Kartik’s gone for 151 in 41 overs (96 in 19 today, plus four no-balls). The players will take tea." So all eyes on Wankhede again. Zaheer to bowl shortly

Sharda Ugra reports that UP have lost two quick wickets, both set batsmen, Kaif and Dagar, but they have taken the lead, and Suresh Raina has come in to bat at No. 5

2.30pm - Tea approaches In Mohali, Punjab are solid against Hyderabad. Openers Jiwanjot Singh and Karan Goel have put on 139 in response to a sub-par 258.

In Indore, Gujarat and hosts MP are involved in an interesting tussle. In reply to Gujarat's 355, MP are 110 for 3, but Naman Ojha and Hdit Birla have already added 56 for the fourth wicket

In Lahli, any opening stand for Haryana would have been an improvement after 55 all out, and they are now 39 for no loss, needing another 111 to make Vidarbha bat again

In Vadodara, a high-scoring match is on the cards. After Stuart Binny's five-for helped Karnataka limit Baroda to 406, Karnataka openers, KB Pawan and Robin Uthappa, have reached 78 without loss

In Dharamsala, Himachal look set to take the first-innings lead. They are 160 for 2 responding to Kerala's 229. Paras Dogra is unbeaten on 76

In Srinagar, Jharkhand have taken a 61-run lead over J&K, and have five wickets in hand. Saurabh Tiwary has crossed 50, and is unbeaten

Still no play in Cuttack

In Guwahati, Dheeraj Jadhav, who scored the first double-century of the season, has fallen 17 short of his personal best, 260. J Syed Mohammed fell 11 short of a hundred, and Assam scored 450. Tripura are 11 for 2 already. Abu Nechim and Arup Das have taken one each

In Anantapur, Services are 213 for 8 in the first innings of their match against Andhra

2.10pm - Kaif misses hundred Mohammad Kaif has been given out lbw stretching forward to Vikas Mishra. He was 91. UP, at 231 for 2, just five short of taking first-innings lead against Delhi. In walks Parvinder Singh. Suresh Raina, fighting for a No. 6 slot for India, has given up his Nos 3 and 4 for UP too

No such heartbreak report from Sid Talya at Wankhede: "Mumbai get their third centurion. Murali Kartik has been taken for runs today and Abhishek Nayar crashes him for a flat six over long-off to bring up his ninth first-class century. He was on 86 when last man Zaheer Khan walked in, and the No.11 hung around long enough for Nayar to reach his landmark. An animated reaction from Nayar, leapt, pumped his fists and then raised his bat. Zaheer celebrated with him. Mumbai have gone past 550. And just as I type, Zaheer’s punched Kartik through cover for four. An over later, he slog-sweeps Shivakant Shukla towards cow corner"

2pm - Will Zaheer help Nayar get a hundred? Reports Sid Talya: "Shivakant Shukla picks up another wicket, has Dhawal Kulkarni caught behind. Abhishek Nayar’s on 86 right now. Mumbai are nine down, with the score on 532. Big cheers from the Vijay Merchant Pavilion – Zaheer Khan walks in at No.11"

At Eden Gardens, bad light has stopped play and forced an early tea. This loss of time could hurt the chances of an outright result in what is shaping up to be a very good match

1.50pm - Sehwag and Nehra off Sharda Ugra tells me Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra have both walked off the field in Ghaziabad. Not sure why

1.45pm - Haryana bat again Haryana have bowled Vidarbha out for 205, which leaves them 150 to prevent an innings defeat

1.40pm - Shukla shocks Rajasthan Lokhi Shukla, brought on after Ashok Dinda left the field with some illness, has brought Bengal right back at Eden Gardens. The bowlers earlier tested Rajasthan batsmen, but it is Shukla who has produced two wickets. Kanitkar, Saxena and Bist are all gone, and Rajasthan are 52 for 4 in response to 258. Shukla: 4-2-6-2. Good news is, Dinda is back on too. Menaria and Rashmi Parida remain for defending champions Rajasthan

1.25pm - Much-travelled Dagar gets hundred Mukul Dagar was born in Delhi and lives there. He played Under-19 for Haryana before moving to UP. And only in the second match for UP, he has scored his maiden hundred, against a team that is named after his home city. He gets there with a three off Vikas Mishra. Reports Sharda Ugra, "Nice fist pump befitting a 22-year-old. Kaif, who has been making him run hard so far, sprinted the hardest this time to get Dagar to his hundred." UP 203 for 1 against Delhi's 235. This is turning out to be a mauling for the favourites Delhi

At Wankhede, Mumbai are piling it on. They have crossed 500. Abhishek Nayar 79 not out

1.15pm - Sandy storms in and out Chairman of selectors, Sandeep Patil, just swung by the press box at Wankhede to say hello to a few of his old acquaintances. It is being rumoured that he liked the view from there. There was no selection information divulged

1.05pm - Dinda off the field Ashok Dinda has just walked off Eden Gardens holding onto his chest. But it works for Bengal. Laxmi Shukla completes the over, and strikes immediately by inducing an edge from Ankit Lamba. Saha takes a nice catch diving forward as the edge dies on him. Not many keepers would have made it look as easy as Saha did. Rajasthan 42 for 3 in reply to Bengal's 258. Last season's leading run-getter Robin Bist has a job to do now. Yuvraj clone, Ashok Menaria, is his partner

12.50pm - Free at Wankhede too Sahil Gehlot, another feedbacker, was apparently misled yesterday. Sahil, at Wankhede, the entry is free for the Vijay Merchant Gate. Garware Pavilion seems to be limited only to members, but Vijay Merchant Stand is definitely open to all

12.40pm - Lunch-time entertainment At least at Ghaziabad, there is some. From Main Hoon Na to Student Of The Year blaring from the loudspeaker. No Gangnam Style, though. When in UP, it's better to stay away from gangs and variations thereof

12.30 - Entry is free Nitin Aggarwal wants to know if you have to buy tickets to watch the match in Ghaziabad. Nitin, the entry for that game is free, and the ground is full today too. And for most of the Ranji matches, unless advertised otherwise, the entry is free

12.25pm - First double century As they have lunch in the rest of India, the east matches have resumed. Dheeraj Jadhav has successfully reached the first double-century of the season. He has hit 25 fours and a six. He is now 60 shy of his personal best. Assam are 342 for 5 against Tripura. All five have fallen to Timir Chanda

12.05pm - Lunch everywhere From Wankhede, Sid Talya says, "Mumbai are 462 for 7 at lunch, after 121.1 overs. Nayar is unbeaten on 60 right now. He just lost Iqbal Abdulla at the stroke of lunch. Abdulla tried to pad up to Murali Kartik, the ball lobbed up and spun back to hit the stumps before he could stop it. A productive session for Mumbai. Nayar and Agarkar put together a half-century stand in quick time. Quite a few boundaries, and Mumbai went at close to four an over in the first session."

From Ghaziabad, Sharda Ugra reports: "As the sun finally came out over the Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh’s far-from-starry batting line-up shone. An unbroken 116 run partnership between Mukul Dagar and Mohammad Kaif took UP into lunch on 152 for 1. Dagar was on 61 and Kaif on 64. Delhi entered this game with a four-man medium-pace attack along with left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra and a Nehru Stadium wicket that had their own batting all out for 235 on the first day.

On day two, however, Delhi’s leading bowlers Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra led a wicketless attack through the 33-over first session. Ishant bowled a single spell of six overs for 19 runs in the session, and other than hitting Kaif on the back of the head with a bouncer that didn’t rise, did not get the breakthrough, despite being quick and sharp."

In Mohali, Punjab have got off to a solid, if slow, start after limiting Hyderabad to 258. In the 109 minutes before lunch, they have scored 45 for no loss. Karan Goel and Jiwanjot Singh have been cautious but are unconquered

In Indore, MP are 45 for 2 in reply to Gujarat's 355. Naman Ojha is still unbeaten

In Vadodara, Baroda have been bowled out for 406. They lost their last six wickets for 79. Stuart Binny led Karnataka's fightback with a five-for

In Cuttack, there has been no play today thanks to rain. TN still 66 for 2

In Dharamsala, Himachal are cautious but strong at 72 for 1 in reply to Kerala's 229. Aakash Chopra is unbeaten on 11 in 98 minutes

In Srinagar, Jharkhand, at 168 for 4, are on the verge of taking a first-innings lead, after having bowled J&K out for 195

In Anantapur, Services have come back from 73 for 5 through an unbeaten 80-run sixth-wicket stand between Rajat Palliwal and Sarabjit Singh

11.55am - Lahli keeps testing batsmen After bowling Haryana out for 55 yesterday, Vidarbha haven't quite this match beyond Haryana's reach. They are 153 for 7, with Mumbai veteran and now their captain Sairaj Bahutule putting together important lower-order runs along with Shrikant Wagh. They have added 35 for the eighth wicket. Having said all this, knowing Haryana's recent batting form, don't count out an innings defeat

11.45am - Sharda Ugra in Ghaziabad Okay one man has come on boundary waving Indian flag and wearing tricoloured turban. Obviously encouraged by the local organisers, for whom a cheer leading squad may be a bit expensive

11.35am - Lunch in east India Jadhav goes into the lunch break unbeaten on 185, and Assam 323 for 5. Bengal have faced a testing spell of nine overs from Bengal quicks in helpful conditions before lunch. Big inswing bowler Sourav Sarkar has dismissed one of their mainstays, Vineet Saxena, already. Rajasthan 16 for 1 in reply to Bengal's 258

11.25am - Finally Amish Saheba relents In Ghaziabad, after repeated complaints from Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, at least three approaches recorded, umpire Amish Saheba has finally agreed to change the ball 35 overs into the UP innings. UP 126 for 1 in reply to Delhi's 235. Mukul Dagar and Kaif have both reached their fifties

11.20am - First double coming up? Dheeraj Jadhav, he of the high and straight back lift, is move steadily towards a possible first double-century of the season. Jadhav, originally from Maharashtra, is now playing for Assam against Tripura, and is 183 not out of 321 for 5. There is another milestone possible here. Timir Chanda has taken all the five wickets to fall. A possible all-10 on its way?

11am - Poor quality of balls continues Have a look at what Sid Talya has been witnessing at Wankhede: "Another ball change - this time after 105.3 overs. So the previous ball lasted just 2.4 overs. Mumbai are 393 for 5. This, shortly after Abhishek Nayar smashed one down the ground off Murali Kartik."

And over in Ghaziabad, Virender Sehwag is not happy with the shape of the ball, but the umpire has denied him a change for the moment

10.55am - Innings end Around the time that innings come to ends usually - first session on second day. Gujarat have been bowled out for 355 by MP. Not much apart from Parthiv Patel's 162 there. Today they lost five wickets for 28. Anand Rajan, who was born in Nagpur and has played IPL for Deccan Chargers, is the chief architect of the collpase, taking 7 for 77.

Hyderabad and Bengal have both been bowled out for 258.

And despite the 17-year-old Sanju Samson's unbeaten 127, Kerala have managed only 229 against Himachal

10.50 - Rahane fails to make it a big one Reports Sid Talya from Wankhede: "Ajinkya Rahane is gone for 129 off 255 balls. He batted for 394 minutes and hit 17 boundaries. Mumbai are 383 for 5 after 104.4 overs. Nayar’s not out on 14. The partnership was worth 40. Krishnakant Upadhyaya got one to nip back in, and the umpire didn’t take too long to decide on the lbw. Mumbai’s centurions are back in the pavilion, in walks the captain Ajit Agarkar."

10.45am - Don't bounce me twice, maan
Mohammad Kaif has copped one on the helmet from Ishant Sharma, hasn't been too comfortable since then, and has had physio attention more than once. But when Ashish Nehra bounced him again, Kaif emphatically hooked him for a six. UP 93 for 1 in reply to Delhi's 235 in Ghaziabad

10.40am - Singhs on song
In Kolkata, with a drizzle on, Pankaj Singh and Rituraj Singh have taken eight wickets between them to restrict Bengal to 258. Wriddhiman Saha scores a fighting 59

10.35am - Ball trouble at Wankhede now
From Sid Talya in Mumbai: "A couple of attacking shots from Ajinkya Rahane in the last two overs; he slog-swept Murali Kartik over midwicket and drove Krishnakant Upadhyaya beautifully on the up through extra cover. A fine leg, third man and a deep point in place for him. A few seats have been occupied in the Vijay Merchant pavilion; that it’s a weekend may have everything to do with that. And just as I type, Rahane has collected another boundary off Upadhyaya, moving across, taking it from the off and flicking it through midwicket. The umpires get together to change the ball. At this point, 381 for 4. Rahane is 129 and Nayar is on 12. The ball’s being changed after 102.5 overs – though this ball is 22.5 overs old."

10.30am - Stuart Binny gets breakthrough
In Baroda, Karnataka have finally broken through with Stuart Binny trapping Aditya Waghmode lbw for 129, ending a fifth-wicket stand of 239. Irfan Pathan is unbeaten on 120, and Baroda 333 for 5 against Karnataka

More rain in Cuttack The rain-affected match between Tamil Nadu and Odisha is yet to resume on day 2. Tamil Nadu are 66 for 2 in the 31 overs possible so far

10.25am - Harbhajan wicketless but a satisfied captain
Over in Mohali, Harbhajan Singh has bowled 21 overs for no wickets, but he will be pleased as his colleagues have bowled Hyderabad out for 258. Manpreet Gony took four, Amitoze Singh three

10.15am - Saha keeps fighting
Under overcast skies, facing the moving ball from the rampant singhs of Rajasthan, Pankaj and Rituraj of Rajasthan, Wriddhiman Saha has launched a calculated assault to reach 55 off 74 to take Bengal to 246 for 8. A timely effort from Saha

10.10am - Kaif hit on the helmet
Over in Ghaziabad, Sharda Ugra has just seen Mohammad Kaif being hit in the head by an Ishant Sharma bouncer. Kaif tried to duck under it, but the ball didn't rise. Uttar Pradesh are fighting it out in the tough early-morning conditions, after having bowled the hugely favoured Delhi for 235. She also reports the journalist attendance, now that Sehwag, Gambhir and Kohli are not expected to bat today, has gone down from 100 to 10

10.05am - Sid Talya at Wankhede
Nothing overly dramatic in the first half hour of Mumbai v Railways. There’s been one boundary hit this morning, by Abhishek Nayar. Except that Rahane is now batting with a short leg and a leg gully in place. Bodyline? Mumbai 354 for 4 in 96 overs

9.50am - Pankaj Singh and five-fors
The tall and strapping Pankaj Singh is, quite uncharitably, remembered for his one India chance he got on the tour to Australia. Against ACT Invitational XI, he bowled 19 overs for two wickets, and has never been in the reckoning since. Perhaps he doesn't have the pace, but you can't deny him the contribution he has made to first-class cricket. When he sent yet another off stump cartwheeling in Kolkata, he reached his 15th five-wicket haul in only 62 matches. That's some statistic.

9.30am - Riturajasthan
Right-arm quick Rituraj Singh from Rajasthan may be only seven games old, but he has earned a lot of plaudits for his showing in the last season. He has shown some character today. Warned for following through into the protected area, he went wide of the crease and bowled two peaches. First he got one to seam back in to take the off bail of Laxmi Shukla, who had shouldered arms. Two balls later he got a fullish ball to leave Sourav Sarkar slightly, from that wide angle, and the off stump went cartwheeling. Emphatic comeback. Bengal 205 for 7 after they had been 169 for 2 at one time

9.20am - Saha's time? Wriddhiman Saha and Laxmi Shukla are trying to revive Bengal from a middle-order stumble - 205 for 6 - under overcast skies in Kolkata. Saha has deservedly earned the reputation for being the best pure wicketkeeper in India. However, I am told he had a shocker for India A against England A in Mumbai. It is this that every young keeper has to learn from MS Dhoni. Dhoni is not flashy as a keeper, he might not go for some catches between him and first slip, but very rarely does he have a rank bad day with the gloves. That's full credit to the India captain

9am - Worth a thousand words
The pictures from yesterday's play, easily one of the most followed first day of a Ranji season, tell some great stories. Here Sachin Tendulkar is all alone in his quest to regain form before an important Test series. Mumbai must have grown awfully busier from the times we grew up hearing about.

Tendulkar did have company, though. Along with fellow centurion and a youngster desperate for a Test cap, Akinkya Rahane, Tendulkar added 200. Rahane is not out on 105, and could make this a big one.

Albeit for a little while, the wrists again did what they are best at doing. Notice the PCA stumps and Hyderabad Cricket Association logo on VVS Laxman's trousers. If Ranji Trophy is worth Laxman's caring, it should be worth our caring too.

Not photographed is the 17-year-old from Kerala, Sanju Samson, who scored an unbeaten maiden hundred in an innings whose next highest score was 26. Six batsmen fell in single figures to the Himachal bowlers, but Samson took Kerala to 196 for 8.

As for today, as usual, action begins at 9am in the east, and other venues will have a 9.30am start. It's overcast and slightly hazy at Eden Gardens where Bengal are resuming from the overnight 187 for 4. Ordinary light might have a say later in the day