Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round II, Day 1

5.15pm No five-fors today, but centuries for Maharashtra's Kedar Jadhav, Rajasthan's Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Vineet Saxena, and Tripura's Abbas Ali. It was a day that neither bowlers nor batsmen bossed. If there was the 143 all out in Delhi, there was also the 300 for 3 in Pune. It's all pointing to at least two interesting days ahead. Do join us tomorrow for more of this. Cheers

5.10pm - Thirteen at Kotla On a bowlers' day in Delhi, 13 wickets fell. Delhi bowled Odisha out for 143, and have been made to work hard for their 62 for 3 in 31 overs. This is the game to follow in this round

5.05pm Other Group B games In Vadodara, Hemang Badani's fighting unbeaten 84 has taken Vidarbha to a fighting 218 for 8. His ninth-wicket stand with Amol Jungade is worth 53.

In Chennai all Tamil Nadu batsmen scored fifties to post an impressive 260 for 2. Badri and Aparajith end unbeaten on 61 and 85 respectively

5pm - Group A stumps updates In Mohali, Punjab have dismissed Arnab Nandi one over before stumps to restore parity. Bengal, 118 for 5 at one time, end the day 280 for 7, with Saha unbeaten in 75

In Jaipur, Rajasthan interrupt their domination of Mumbai at 269 for 2, with centuries for both Saxena and Kanitkar

In Surat, Gujarat are 278 for 5 against Saurashtra, with Manprit Juneja unbeaten on 67, joining Smit and Parthiv Patels as half-centurion

In Hyderabad, only 54 overs were bowled thanks to poor light, but it was enough time for VVS Laxman and Hanuma Viharo ti score 70s and take Hyderabad to 159 for 2

4.55pm - Grandstand finish in Pune Amol karhadkar has just seen Kedar Jadhav bring up his century in the last over of the day against UP. That's an innings played at better than a run a ball, and Maharashtra are 339 for 3

4.50pm - J&K graft in Goa J&K end up with 196 for 7 in 91 overs against Goa. They were 89 for 4 at one stage, but Parvez Rassol has scored an unbeaten 90 to keep them afloat

Services finish the day at 290 for 6 against Himachal

4.40pm - Hundred for Abbas Ali Syed Abbas Ali, who has been to ICL and back, has scored an unbeaten century to rescue Tripura from 54 for 3 to take them to 222 for 6

4.35pm - Last update from Jamshedpur Jharkhand have bowled out Assam for 179. Sunny Gupta and Shabaz Nadeem took four wickets apiece. At stumps, Jharkhand are 2 for 0

4.25pm - After Kanitkar, it's Saxena As the comments BTL will tell you, these two are renowned slayers of Mumbai attacks. After Kanitkar's three centuries against Mumbai in the last three matches, Saxena has made it two centuries and a fifty in the ast three. And Rjasthan are bossing this contest at 248 for 2

4.15pm - Delhi being made to buckle down Orissa have responded strongly to being bowled out for 143, and Delhi have fought their way to 42 for 2 in 20 overs

4.13pm - Shukla falls but after a job well done Punjab have broken the partnership between Saha and Shukla, but Bengal have now reached 262 for 6

Over in Pune, Maharashtra keep punishing UP. Amol Karhadkar says, "Bawne now joins the party. After scoring a boundary off a paddled sweep in Chawla's previous over, the stylish right-hander cuts him twice for a four in what could well be the leggie's last over of the day. And then follows it up with a cover drive on the backfoot. Maharashtra 301 for 3 off 80"

4.10pm - Gujarat gain upper hand in Surat Manprit Juneja's half-century in the middle order has taken Gujarat to 257 for 5. They had at one point been edge with Ravindra Jadeja dismissing the Patels, Smit and Parthiv, one after the other to make it 148 for 4

4.05pm - Jharkhand keep the pressure on Assam are now 175 for 8, and Sunny Gupta is looking for his five-for. He has taken four wickets for 56

4pm - Fifties for Badri and Aparajith They have had to fight hard, but S Badrinath and Baba Aparajith have posted fifties. This is a first in first-class cricket for Aparajith. The stand is 114, and TN 224 for 2. All of TN's top four have scored fifties on a tough track

3.55pm - Baroda keep picking wickets It's captain Yusuf Pathan now who has reduced Vidarbha to 165 for 8. Hemang Badani still fighting, at 61 not out

3.50pm - Amol Karhadkar in Pune "Kedar Jadhav is tormenting the UP attack. Two boundaries in an over off Imtiaz followed by the same off Piyush Chawla. The aggressive batsman is scoring at a run a ball as Maharashtra have scored almost 80 runs off 12 overs in the last session" Maharashtra now 274 for 3

3.47pm - Mumbai finally get Kanitkar Ankeet Chavan gets Mumbai their second wicket by trapping Kanitkar lbw for 119. Vineet Saxena is 89 not out, and Rajasthan in charge at 230 for 2

3.45pm - Bad light in Hyderabad again Play has been suspended for the third time in Hyderabad. Hanuma Vihari 76*, Laxman 70*, Hyderabad 159 for 2

3.40pm - Fifties for Bengal's rescuers Wriddhiman Saha has got to his third fifty in three innings this season, and all three have come in testing conditions in challenging circumstances. Keeping him company is Laxmi Shukla, who is unbeaten on 54. Bengal are now 227 for 5 after they had lost their fifth wicket at 118

Jharkhand keep pushing Just after team, Jharkhand have taken two more wickets to reduce Assam to 145 for 7. Sunny Gupta, who has moved back from Tamil Nadu, has taken 4 for 40

3.15pm - Laxman hits a six Just realised VVS Laxman has hit a six in his 70 not out as Hyderabad reach 159 for 2. I can't be sure about first-class cricket, but I know Laxman has hit only five sixes in Tests - he doesn't need to hit sixes. And I remember all bowlers: Shaun Pollock, Brighton Watambwa, Dale Steyn, Paul Wiseman and Danish Kaneria. His last Test six was during his match-winning 95 at Kingsmead, a hook off Steyn into the Castle Corner

Over at Kotla, Delhi are being tested too, and are 21 for 1 in 11 overs after bowling Odisha out for 143

2.50pm - A hard-fought session Chennai Karnataka made Tamil Nadu work hard on a turning track, but S Badrinath and Baba Aparijith put their heads down and fought through the period to come back unbeaten. Tamil Nadu are now 167 for 2, a score that looks really good looking at the turn on offer. The partnership is worth 57, and they have batted for nearly a session, which suggests how hard they have had to work

In Vadodara, Vidarbha have lost one more wicket just before the break to go 133 for 6 into the break

In Jamshedpur, Hokaito Zhimomi has missed out on a fifty by two runs, and Assam are 132 for 5

In Naduan, Services are 204 for 4 against Himachal

Tripura are 151 for 5 against Andhra in Anantapur

J&K are 142 for 5 against Goa in Goa

2.45pm - Tea update from Amol Karhadkar in Pune "Tea: Maharashtra add 101 runs in the second session, losing both the set batsmen Khadiwale and Atitkar, to reach 201 for 3. Kedar Jadhav, who was promoted to bat at No. 4, and Ankit Bawne at the crease on 13 and 12 respectively."

2.40pm - Kanitkar gets first century of this round Hrishikesh Kanitkar has hit a four off the last before tea to go into the break 101 not out. He and Vineet Saxena, 76 not out, have been together for 62.1 overs, and Rajasthan are now 198 for 1 against Mumbai in Jaipur

2.35pm - Fifty stand for Shukla and Saha Like they did in Bengal's last match, Laxmi Shukla and Wriddhiman Saha are providing Bengal crucial runs. Their sixth-wicket stand is now worth 55. Saha is 30, Shukla 28, and Bengal 173 for 5 in Mohali

In another Group A match, Gujarat have reached 213 for 4 against Saurashtra as we approach tea. Bhargav Merai and Manprit Juneja have added 65 for the fifth wicket after a double-strike from Ravindra Jadeja

2.30pm - Laxman, Vihari shine in bad light Amid two bad-light interruptions, VVS Laxman and Hanuma Vihari have carried on the repair job for Hyderabad. Laxman has reached 50, and Vihari is 73 not out. The partnership is 111, and Hyderabad 133 for 2

2.25pm - Double breakthrough for Baroda Over in Vadodara, Baroda have taken two quick wickets after a 97-run stand between Shalabh Srivastava and Hemang Badani. They are now 128 for 5 with Badani 38 not out

2.20pm - Amol Karhadkar at Pune "Bhuvneshwar does it again. Just as Atitkar inched closer to a deserved century, the medium pacer does him in with one that slightly moves away from the bat and bangs into off stump. Maharashtra 187 for 3"

2pm - Delhi done with Odisha batsmen At the Kotla, Odisha have been bowled out for 143. Manan Sharma has ended up with 4 for 30. He is Ajay Sharma's son, and this is his first-class debut. This is a good comeback from Delhi after losing to UP

1.50pm - Breakthrough in Pune On what seems like a really flat track, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has given UP their second wicket, pegging back Harshad Khadiwale's off stump. 152 for 2 now. Khadiwale score 68

1.45pm - Dermot Reeve makes new friends Observes Amil Karhadkar: "Dermot Reeve is at it again. This time, he tries his best to entertain a group of 50-odd spectators (considering how difficult it is for a Puneite to reach the stadium for a Ranji match, how did all of them make it to the Sahara Stadium?) by interacting them from the other side of the fence for almost five minutes"

1.40pm - Assam hold on In Jamshedpur, Assam have now reached 89 for 3. They lost their third wicket at 26. Hokaito Zhimomi, the Nagaland-born allrounder, is 42

Tripura are 104 for 4 against Andhra in Anantapura

Saurabh Bandekar has taken tow quick wickets in Goa, and J&K are now 107 for 4

1.35pm - Karnataka tighten things up In Chennai, after a rampant opening stand from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka have pulled things back a bit. Hardly any runs have come since lunch, and Abhinav Mukund has been dismissed too. TN are now 126 for 2, and they just hit a boundary after 22 overs. Only 18 runs have come in the 15 overs since lunch. However, this looks like a pitch that will assist spinners generously, and Tamil Nadu still seem to have the advantage

1.30pm - Hyderabad put up a fight VVS Laxman is 27 not out, and Hanuma Vihari has reached 50 as Hyderabad have recovered from 22 for 2 to 87 for 2

1.25pm - Punjab push some more Punjab have taken out the two not-out batsmen soon after lunch, and are in a position to dominate again. Bengal are 127 for 5, with Wriddhi Saha and Lohki Shukla their last recognised batsmen

1.15pm - Flatness in Pune Reports Amol Karhadkar: "Sudeep Tyagi manages to extract something off the wicket that literally has NOTHING in it for bowlers. Harshad Khadiwale’s attempted off drive finds an inside edge and races past the wicketkeeper to the fine leg fence. Maharashtra 121 for 1. Khadiwale (58*) and Atitkar (40*) closing in on the century-run stand for the second wicket."

1.10pm - Delhi get some more Manan Sharma, Ajay Sharma's son, has provided Delhi with a breakthrough to end a 49-run sixth-wicket partnership. Odisha are now 113 for 6, with Natraj Behera already retired-hurt

1.05pm - Jadeja gets the better of Patels Over in Surat, Ravindra Jadeja has got rid of the two set Patels, Smit and Parthiv. Parthiv is especially a big wicket considering his form. Both scored fifties. Gujarat now 151 for 4

1pm - Fifties for Saxena and Kanitkar Saxena had followed Kanitkar to a fifty, and Mumbai are struggling against the defending champions after asking them to bat first in Jaipur. Kanitkar has reached 72, and Rajasthan are 139 for 1

12.50pm - Do local associations want these matches covered? We are often quick to blame the press for not giving Ranji matches enough coverage, but what of the working space provided to them? You must have read about how Amol Karhadkar had to wait for two hours before he was provided a power point in the stands in Pune. Now listen to this from Sattwik Biswal of cricketnext.com:

"Madness at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The scorers have been set up at one table at the opposite end of the ground as where the press have been given a couple tables and enough chairs under the shade of an umbrella. So hardly anyone is sitting because the press has to walk halfway across the stadium to get updates on which batsman has fallen, what the score is, what the fall of wicket was, and so on. Makes it difficult to cover a match. Surprising that the press box has not been opened, like it was during the last Ranji season."

Makes you wonder how many men does it take to unlock a press box. And it's not as if these are small-town venues that don't have press boxes. These are full-fledged IPL venues. And easy thought it might be, you can't blame the BCCI here. This is the local associations' job. On a happier note, the chaos at Kotla reminds me of time I watched three Ranji matches in Delhi on the same day. And you can't argue against the food in Delhi. Lavish buffet from DDCA: dal makhni, shahi paneer, palak paneer and butter chicken

"Why isn't U19 campaign hero Harmeet Singh isn't in Mumbai's squad? Is he injured or playing somewhere else? " Yes Mishal, he injured himself during an Under-25 game

12.20pm - The Kotla story Delhi have Odisha down at 83 for 5 with one batsman, captain Natraj Behera, retired-hurt. Reminds me of this and this

12.17pm - Vidarbha recover In Vadodara, Vidarbha have recovered from 16 for 3, and are 77 for 3. Srivastava and Badani are unbeaten.

12.15pm - Other Group C updates now In Jamshedpur, Jharkhand have Assam down at 40 for 3. Their Nagaland import, Hokaito Zhimomi, is 21 not out

In Anantapur, Tripura are struggling at 61 for 3 against Andhra

In Goa, J&K are 63 for 2

12.10pm - Other lunch updates In Mohali, Bengal are 89 for 3 against Punjab, with Tiwary gone already.

In Jaipur, Rajasthan have got off to a good start, reaching 126 for 1 against Mumbai. Kanitkar is 64 not out, and Vineet Saxena unbeaten on 45.

In Surat, Gujarat have lost Smit Patel to Ravindra Jadeja just before lunch. Smit scored 61, Gujarat are 141 for 3, and Parthiv Patel unbeaten on 51 off 55

In Hyderabad, VVS Laxman is 15 not out, and Hyderabad 59 for 2

12.05 - Amol Karhadkar at Maharashtra v UP in Pune "Harshad Khadiwale ends the first session in the same manner as he started it - with a square cut that raced to the point fence. Maharashtra 100 for 1 at lunch. Khadiwale (48*) and Sangram Atitkar (29*) at the crease."

Noon - Blonde hair strikes Karnataka's G Satish, with his hair coloured a vibrant blonde, breaks through after both Tamil Nadu openers have posed fifties. Arun Karthick is gone for 50, but Tamil Nadu seem headed towards a good total on a pitch that is assisting spin already

Similarly, just before lunch, Himachal, too, get their first wicket, after a century opening stand from Services. Soumik Chaterjee is run out for 54

It's almost lunch at both these venues

11.55am - Welcome Dermot Reeve He is the Maharashtra coach, and he is up to interesting things. Writes in Amol Karhadkar, "Dermot Reeve, the Maharashtra head coach, walks out of the dressing room with a guitar in one hand and a notebook in another and keeps the musical instrument leaning on to a chair feet outside the boundary rope. Minutes later, an MCA volunteer takes the guitar back to the dressing room." When was the last time you saw a guitar in an Indian dressing room? Perhaps John Wright brought his along

11.50am - Carnage at Kotla The Delhi quicks are suggesting a good recovery after the thumping from UP last week. Already they have Odisha down at 77 for 5, plus the retirement of Natraj Behera, who was hit in the abdomen. Narwal and Suyal have taken two each, and Awana has one. This is Kotla back to its testing best. I can only remember such brutes being prepared for the season-starter at Kotla

11.45am - Kanitkar goes after Mumbai Hrishikesh kanitkar has raced away to 60 off 87 after Rajasthan lost their first wicket at 10. With Vineet Saxena, he has added 103 now

11.30 am - Sahara Stadium's slow debut Drumroll first. Amol Karhadkar has finally found a place to sit in Pune. He writes in, "Almost two hours after the first ball was bowled, the host association finally manages to set up a temporary press enclosure (a table, two chairs and an extension box with electrical plug-in points) in the aisle leading up to a stand behind the sight screen"

It's obvious we don't even expect following for these Ranji matches. How will we get it if we are not even prepared for it?

11.25am - Big batsman watch VVS Laxman is 14 not out, and Hyderabad 47 for 2. Manoj Tiwary has just fallen. Gone for 20. Caught by the 20-year-old captain Mandeep Singh, off the bowling of Manpreet Gony. Bengal 80 for 3 now

Parthiv Patel has raced along to an unbeaten 31 off 28, taking Gujarat to 106 for 2

11.15am - Jharkhand's great start continues Jharkhand have reduced Assam to 30 for 3 in Jamshedpur. These two are the sides that got seven points from their first game, so whoever wins this one will get a huge lead in Group C

Services are giving TN a run for their money for the best start with the bat this round. They are 77 for no loss against Himachal. TN are 80 for none against Karnataka

Andhra have got Tripura down at 41 for 2, and Goa have reduced J&K to 51 for 2

11.10am - Delhi rock Odisha Pawan Suyal and Sumit Narwal have reduced Odisha to 57 for 3 in Delhi. To make it worse for the visitors, their captain Natraj Behera has copped one from Narwal in the abdomens, and has retired-hurt

11.05am - Tamil Nadu openers grind Karnataka In Group B, in Chennai, there has been the odd edge and the odd loose shot from Arun Karthick, but Tamil Nadu have reached 71 for no loss. Abhinav Mukund has reached a solid 33. These can't be good signs for Karnataka, because the pitch looks dry and might offer turn later. Karnataka themselves brought on spin as early as the sixth over

Maharashtra are circumspect against UP, but have reached 57 for the loss of one wicket, in 23 overs

In Vadodara, Baroda have struck thrice, but Hemang Badani and Shalabh Srivastava (not to be confused with the UP left-arm quick) have added 31 for the fourth wicket. Vidarbha 47 for 3

10.55am - Punjab off to good start After asking Bengal to bat first, Punjab have got through the openers with the score just 51. Manoj Tiwary is now in

The oldish firm of Vineet Saxena and Hrishikesh Kanitkar has added an unbeaten 56 after Rajasthan lost an early wicket to Mumbai in Jaipur

Time for some Parthiv Patel in Surat as Gujarat have lost two early wickets to Saurashtra. Smit Patel is there for Parthiv's company. Gujarat 64 for 2, after Sid Trivedi has taken a wicket against his former team

And VVS Laxman is in too. It increasingly seems like Laxman will have to do it all by himself if he is to get Hyderabad some respectability in the table. After choosing to bat first, they are 22 for 2 against MP

10.40am - Chawla arrives Says Amol Karhadkar from Pune: "Piyush Chawla strikes in his first over. Gets Khurana to edge one to the keeper Amir Khan for 21. Maharashtra 42 for 1 in 17th."

Chawla has to be one of the most bizarre chapters in the book of bizarre selections in India. He comes into the side without having done anything of note in Ranji. Then without getting a chance he is dropped. As is being speculated - and speculated because the selectors are too high and mighty to explain their decisions to the paying public - Chawla wasn;t picked for Tests because he was out of action with some injury. However, here he is, bowling in first-class cricket on the day the India Test camp is starting and six days before a Test.

10.30am - ten wickets Coming up to one hour in the second round. All 12 matches are underway, and 10 wickets have fallen. Vidarbha and Assam are the teams to have lost two wickets. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Goa are among those who haven't lost any

10.25am - Formats mixed up? Over in Chennai, Arun Karthick has taken on the early introduction of spin through a flurry of slog sweeps. The first one he tried, it looked ugly, and he was lucky to survive and get away with four byes, but after that he has slog-swept a couple of fours. He is 21 off 30, and Tamil Nadu 44 for no loss. KP Appanna at the receiving end, and his response has been to bowl flat and quick

10.20am - Send us photos and stories Going to watch Ranji Trophy matches? Send us pictures, and we will publish them here. Not just action pictures, but anything you might find interesting: a quirky banner, a huge crowd, an empty iconic stand. Whatever you find interesting. Send them across to cricinfophotos@gmail.com . And also if you have any interesting story to tell, do send it across

10.10am - Another ordinary start for Hyderabad After choosing to bat first, Hyderabad have lost opener Ravi Teja early, and are 4 for 1

10.05 - Double-strike in Vadodara Baroda have got off to the bets start so far, removing both the Vidarbha openers after asking them to bat first. Gagandeep Singh and Vohra have taken a wicket each. Vidarbha 8 for 2

10am - Mumbai strike early too Kshemal Waingankar has replaced Zaheer Khan, and he has struck immediately to get rid of Ankit Lamba early in Japiur. Rajasthan 19 for 1

Put in in Surat, Gujarta have lost an early wicket too, to Sandeep Maniar. They are 27 for 1

9.55am - Spin in sixth over And we have spin in the first half hour. Karnataka introduce KP Apanna in the sixth. Already an edge has fallen short of slip. Chennai curator seems to have responded to the calls of India captain

And finally, I have toss news from Goa, where Jammu & Kashmir have decided to bat first

9.53am - Young captain, early wicket At 20, Mandeep Singh has to be one of the youngest captains in Ranji Trophy. He has backed his bowlers by asking Bengal to bat first, and Manpreet Gony has given him an early wicket too, removing opener Jayojit Basu. Bengal 17 for 1

9.50am - New-look Delhi strike Pawan Suyal, in the Delhi side replacing one out of Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra, has struck in his first over, taking Odisha opener Paresh Patel

9.47am - Maharshtra off and running Says Amol Karhadkar from Pune: "Harshad Khadiwale has got off the blocks in style, hitting three cracking drives through the off side in less than four overs. Sudeep Tyagi gives him a stare after being hit through covers."

9.45am In Nduan, Himachal Pradesh have won the toss and inserted Services. Tripura have decided to bat against Andhra in Anantapur.

9.35am In the big group C match, Assam have already lost a wicket against Jharkhand. They are both leaders of the group with seven points each. Shabaz Nadeem asked Assam to bat first, and JN Singh has removed Pallav Kumar Prashant for a duck in the first over

"Why is the rest of the Indian team not playing? Yuvraj, Kohli etc.? The test series starts in 7 days, they should have played another first class match." Suresh, they are all part of India's pre-season camp in Mumbai starting today

9.20am Toss news coming in from various centres. Maharashtra have won the toss in Pune, and will bat first. UP are missing the injured Praveen Kumar and RP Singh, who didn't even start the season. Piyush Chawla is back for them.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu have won the toss and will bat first on what looks like a dry flaky surface. TN have a new coach, VB Chandrasekhar, who will be missed in the commentators' box

Bengal are batting first against Punjab in Mohali. Punjab are being captained by Mandeep Singh. Saurashtra have inserted Gujarat in in the Gujarat derby in Surat

Rohit Sharma, Mumbai's captain in Agarkar's absence, has asked defending champions Rajasthan to bat first in Jaipur. Hyderabad have decided to bat first in their home game against MP.

Baroda, missing Irfan pathan, have chosen to bowl first against Vidarbha at home. Odisha have won the toss in Delhi and are batting first. The newly-married Shikhar Dhawan is Delhi's captain.

9.15am The second round if the Ranji Trophy is upon us. The Test stars have gone away, and we are left with our regular workhorses plus a Suresh Raina here and a Rohit Sharma there. Now is the real test for Ranji, which got off to its most followed start in recent memory when all India players, except for MS Dhoni and Cheteshwar Pujara, took field last week.

All this won’t stop Ranji Trophy. Not even injuries will. Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra are out. Munaf Patel and Sreesanth didn’t even start the season. They would all like a bigger break to recover in time, but they will be granted only three days between matches. Here’s hoping for good games, close games, to keep the interest in Ranji alive.