Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round IV, Day 1

5.00pm Thanks all for tuning in to another day of action from the Ranji Trophy. An event-filled one as well, as Punjab, Railways and Andhra knocked over their opponents cheaply to raise the prospect of more matches finishing with outright results than the meagre two in the previous round.

There was another first-class century for Rohit Sharma, and a big one for Hiken Shah as Mumbai took charge against Hyderabad. There were hundreds as well for Delhi's openers Shikhar Dhawan and Unmukt Chand on another flat Kotla track. Tamil Nadu's bowlers could do little as Delhi racked up 287 for 1.

Join us again at 9.00 in the morning as we bring you day two. Cheers!

4.50pm Stumps at Mohali

Punjab are 125 for 5, having lost three wickets for one run, but are comfortably in control after having rolled over Saurashtra for 90.

Goa end the day on 281 for 4 against Kerala, a decent day's outing for them and a century for Sugun Kamat.

Muzumdar is on course for another century, ending on 60* and Andhra are 118 for 4, after bowling out J&K for 153. Stumps at Lahli
Not the flashiest of run-rates but Haryana won't mind that, finishing the day on 221 for 5 in 97 overs against Baroda. Rahul Dalal is the highest scorer with an unbeaten 64.

4.45pm Stumps at Indore

MP finish the day on 322 for 5, allrounder Jalaj Saxena unbeaten on 44, Rameez Khan 35*. A day of toil for Bengal who are missing Ashok Dinda, who is with the Indian squad as cover for the injured Umesh Yadav.

Stumps at Nagpur
Maharashtra finish on 227 for 3, on the back of debutant opener Virag Awate's unbeaten 111 against Vidarbha.

Stumps at Hyderabad
Mumbai end the day on 325 for 2. Centuries for Hiken Shah and Rohit Sharma.

4.40pm Odisha bowled out

SL Akshay finished with four wickets as Odisha's innings ends at 202. Vinay gets three, and HS Sharath two.

4.35pm Stumps in Delhi
Sharda Ugra says: "Delhi 287-1 in 80 overs. Unmukt Chand the hero of the day, has batted through till stumps. Tamil Nadu's over-rate has been of epic slowness. Chand 134*, Mohit 40*".

4.30pm Century for Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma's first-class averages soars towards 60, as he adds another Ranji hundred. Hiken Shah 154*. Mumbai dominant at 325 for 2 against Hyderabad.

4.25pm MP are 313/5 against Bengal, allrounder Jalaj Saxena is unbeaten on 42.

To Ravi, asking about Venugopal Rao: Yes, he is playing his 100th first-class match. For Bundela, this is his 100th Ranji match.

Stumps at Ranchi: Saurabh Tiwary is unbeaten on a six-hour 65, Sunny Gupta is on 58, Jharkhand have risen from 56 for 5 to 176 for 5 against Himachal.

4.15pm Amol Muzumdar among the runs

In his previous match, Amol Muzumdar hit twin hundreds to get Andhra three points. Now, he has 56 off 59 balls in a match where most others have struggled. J&K 153 all out, Andhra 92/3.

Assam have been bowled out for 182 by Services. Medium-pacer Suraj Yadav bags four wickets.

Last time this week, Railways opener Amit Paunikar had only one first-class century. That could have increased to three today, but he misses out, dismissed for 85. Earlier this week, he hit 166 against Punjab in the second innings. Railways are now 140 for 2, in command against Gujarat.

4.10pm Debut hundred for Awate

Maharashtra opener Virag Awate has hit a century on first-class debut, aged 31. They are now 215/3 against Vidarbha.

4.00pm Odisha stumble in Bangalore

From a relatively safe 156 for 4, Odisha have fallen to 185 for 8 against Karnataka. Wicketkeeper CM Gautam has taken six catches already. The Indian record for dismissals in a first-class innings is eight. Two others have taken seven.

3.50pm Rahul Dalal's half-century pushes Haryana beyond 200 against Baroda.

3.40pm More from Sharda: "Bala has been hit for two boundaries of Mohit Sharma and has responded with two purposeful though not scary bouncers, make it three he has swayed past one and ducked the other two."

Does Rohit Sharma ever fail in Ranji trophy? He's now 73*. Hiken Shah 133*, Mumbai 274 for 2.

Another batsman who has rarely failed in Ranji Trophy, Jiwanjot Singh, has just been dismissed for 61. Punjab are 105 for 4, and still have the in-form Uday Kaul in the middle.

3.30pm Sharda Ugra reports: "The noise of the crowd can be heard, except it is coming from the Ambedkar football stadium next door. Tamil Nadu are using a 3-6 leg-side field and left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas is bowling into Unmukt's pads." Negative on day one itself?

Goa opener Sagun Kamat has reached his hundred. He's 103* as Goa reach 236 for 3.

3.25pm Railways opener Amit Paunikar builds on his big century in the previous match with an unbeaten 62 off 72 against Gujarat. Railways 104 for 0.

3.20pm

Vinay Kumar removes two Beheras in three balls. Deepak Behera is his latest victim, caught-behind for a duck. Odisha 161 for 6.

Meanwhile, half-century for Rohit Sharma. He's 59*, and Hiken Shah is 122* as Mumbai reach 249 for 2.

MP are 253/5 as Udit Birla falls after a quick 50.

3.15pm No century for Bisla

For the third time in three matches, Manvinder Bisla makes a 70-plus score but fails to kick on to a hundred. After 80 against J&K, 90 against Jharkhand, he falls on 74 against Kerala. Goa are still comfortably placed at 204 for 3.

3.10pm Odisha lose their fifth wicket soon after tea, Niranjan Behera is bowled by Karantaka captain Vinay Kumar. Odisha are 156 for 5 now.

3.00pm Mumbai continue to dominate
Hiken Shah is unbeaten on 121, and Rohit is 46* Mumbai 235 for 2, against Hyderabad.

And here's Sharda Ugra's report till tea time at the Kotla.

"Tamil Nadu finally broke through the Delhi innings five minutes before tea, when Shikhar Dhawan picked the wrong ball to cut, chopping left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas onto his stumps on 104.

By tea, Delhi were 211-1, with openers scoring centuries and the Kotla wicket turning into a track calm of temperament, mostly suited for run-hungry batsmen. Dhawan and Chand's opening partnership of 205 was the kind of start Tamil Nadu would not have wanted, having won the toss and electing to field.

Chand was on 96 at the fall of Dhawan's wicket. Chand had hit the lone six of the day, off Srinivas over long-on and the afternoon hecklers beseeched him to hit one more, ideally out of the ground towards Delhi Gate about half a km away.

But after a few flashes of impetuousity in the morning, Chand sedately let Dhawan take control of the innings. In the second session, Delhi batsmen scored 111-1 in 28 overs. Chand was not about to let the chance of scoring his second Ranji 100 go by, getting from 95 to 100 with singles. A push-drive off Yo Mahesh got him to his second Ranji century after two seasons. His maiden 100 had come in December 2010 versus Railways."

2.55pm Saurabh Tiwary on 58* (off 207 balls) and Sunny Gupta 40* push Jharkhand to 145 for 5, lifting them from 56 for 5 against Himachal.

Assam are seven down against Services, having made only 138 so far.

Goa have marched on to 201 for 2, opener Sagun Kamat is unbeaten on 90, and Bisla is on 74. Can Bisla make a century this time, after a 90 and a 80 in his previous matches.

2.45pm Haryana 158 for 4. Sachin Rana and Rahul Dalal are both in their 30s.

B Sumanth and Amol Muzumdar put on big stands in both innings for Andhra in the previous round, and they need to do the rescue act once more. Andhra are 16 for 3, and were 8 for 3 in the fourth over against J&K.

2.40pm Dhawan falls, century for Unmukt

Sharda Ugra: "Dhawan bowled by Aushik, ball on the stumps was savagely cut - but onto the stumps. Five minutes before tea, he's gone. Dhawan made 104 off 175b 18x4. Soon after, 100 comes up for Unmukt drove Yo Mahesh through midwicket."

2.35pm Odisha making patient progress, reaching 148 for 4 after 59 overs. Niranjan Behera unbeaten on 59, Subhrajit Sahoo with him on 26*.

Maharashtra are 164 for 3, with opener Viraj Awate on 74*. Vidarbha captain Sairaj Bahutule has taken two of those wickets.

2.30pm Bundela falls

There's no century (at least in the first innings) for MP's Devendra Bundela in his 100th Ranji match. He has been bowled for 61. MP 230 for 4 against Bengal.

And Punjab's opener Jiwanjot Singh continues to find first-class cricket easy. He's unbeaten on 50, as Punjab close in to within eight runs of Saurashtra's total. They have lost Karan Goel (26) and Mayank Sidhana (0).

2.20pm Hecklers at the Kotla

Shards Ugra keeping a close eye (ear) on proceedings: "Some hecklers have arrived in the stands. They demand, "O bachche, chakka maariyoh" - come on child, hit a six.... "Dilli Gate main jaani chahiye" - it should reach Gate which is about 500m from Kotla". Three of them leaning over the barrier and asking Yo Mahesh what Balaji is up to. 200 is past us in the 55th over, Unmukt Chand is on 93."

2.15pm Hundred for Shikhar Dhawan

Sharda Ugra says: "Dhawan has hit his first Ranji 100 of the season, with a single to mid-on off Aushik Srinivas. Delhi are 188-0, Chand 83. Dhawan 165balls 18x4."

2.10pm

Just checking how often a batsman has been stumped on 99, as Naman Ojha was earlier today. Only three times in the history of TEST cricket that it has happened: Virender Sehwag v Sri Lanka in 2010 was the last time it occurred.

2.00pm Punjab consolidate

The in-form Punjab opener Jiwanjot Singh is 39*, and Karan Goel is 23* as they move to 65 for 0, just 25 behind Saurashtra's score. Well, Saurashtra were 73 for 1 at one stage.

Similarly, Railways' openers following up the good work of the bowlers: they are 43 for 0, after bowling out Gujarat for 117. Railways didn't even need the services of experienced left-arm spinner Murali Kartik to finish off Gujarat's first innings.

1.55pm Is the Haryana slide on?

They have lost both set batsmen in the space of 19 deliveries and have slipped to 101 for 4. Utkarsh Patel, the offspinner, has taken both wickets.

Meanwhile, Mumbai's Hiken Shah has reached his 100, off 150 deliveries. His recent scores are: 100* (today), 140, 92 (against England), and three centuries in the Safi Darashah tournament. Mumbai are 186/2. Rohit 19*.

1.50pm Gujarat 117 all out

Sanjay Bangar has astonishing figures of 8.3-3-12-5 as Gujarat are bowled out for 117. The wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat has got five catches there. Rujul Bhatt was one of those, caught-behind for 21.

1.45pm Delhi cruising

Sharda Ugra: "153-0, Unmukt Chand brought up the 150 with a ruler-straight straight drive off R Prasanna, who has valiantly returned to the field after getting hit on the knee… he is supposed to be 'right arm medium fast' but to be fair is more medium than fast.Chand is now 64, Dhawan is 84."

1.40pm Naman Ojha misses century

Madhya Pradesh's Naman Ojha has been stumped on 99, missing out on what would have been his 10th first-class hundred. MP are 180 for 3, Bundela still there on an unbeaten 50.

1.35pm Group C scores

Assam slip to 98 for 6 v Services.

Jharkhand 112 for 5 (S Tiwary 40*, Sunny Gupta 26*) v Himachal. Sunny Gupta is among the leading wicket-takers this season, and he is now helping out Jharkhand with the bat. Saurabh Tiwary playing a crucial role as well.

J&K 136 for 8 v Andhra.

Goa 157 for 2 v Kerala. Another half-century for Bisla, while opener Sagun Kamat is unbeaten on 71.

1.30pm An interesting suggestion from Sujay, but is it feasible? "BCCI should prepare pitches based on zones for Ranji Matches atleast, so that Domestic Players get used to it. Player performance should be measured in terms of a weighted system where useful knocks will be given more weightage than knocks on dead pitches. North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone, Central Zone Green, swing promoting and humid conditions (England) Spinners track (Sub-Continent) Bouncy and quicker (Australia) Quick and Lateral Movement (South Africa) Balanced tracks (West Indies)."

Odisha are 112 for 4 (Niranjan Behera 35*, Sahoo 15*) v Karnataka.

1.25pm Haryana are making steady progress, very slowly though. 92 for 2, after 56 overs. Opener Rahul Dewan closing in on a half-century against Baroda.

1.20pm Update from Kotla

Half-century to Unmukt Chand also. Delhi cruise along to 140/0. Dhawan 79*, Chand 56*. Sharda Ugra: "Here's an astonishing Shikhar Dhawan stat, timed appropriately as he has just lashed Yo Mahesh through covers to get to 79. This season he scored more than 500 runs before the Ranji season started. 99*, 152, 61 in Challenger, and 101, 50,121, 37 in Duleep trophy, adding up to 621 runs."

1.10pm Rujul Bhatt fighting for Gujarat

Earlier this week, Rujul Bhatt helped Gujarat salvage a point against Bengal with a battling century on the final day against Bengal, helping avert what seemed certain defeat. In the match before that, against Saurashtra, he made an unbeaten 160. Can he push Gujarat to a competitive total against Railways, though they collapsed to 77 for 8.

1.00pm Group A score updates

Mumbai 143/2 Hiken Shah 73*, Rohit 6* v Hyderabad.

MP 128 for 2 Naman Ojha 80*, Bundela 24* v Bengal.

Punjab 25 for 0 (Jiwanjot 9*, Karan Goel 13*) v Saurashtra 90 all out.

Gujarat 112 for 8 (Rujul Bhatt 20*, Kushang 14*) v Railways.

12.50 Aditya Tare run out

Mumbai have lost their second wicket as Aditya Tare is run-out for 62. Which means Rohit Sharma is batting. Mumbai are 123 for 2 against Hyderabad.

Also, at the Gandil Memorial Science College ground in Jammu, J&K are 106 for 6, against Andhra.

12.45pm

One of our regulars Senthil says: "I think if Delhi pitch produce same result as previous one, BCCI should ditch the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch forever and fine DDCA for preparing such a worst pitch." Delhi are 100/0 after the first session. In the previous round, even the first innings wasn't completed.

12.40pm Sharath gets another for Karnataka soon after lunch. Odisha 87 for 4, after Samantaray is caught-behind for 28.

12.30pm Sharda Ugra has been putting her camera to good use.

12.20pm There were only two outright results in the previous round. This time looks like we will have several more, bowlers having a great time in the first session of round four.

12.10pm Group B scores around lunch time.

Sharda Ugra has sent in a snap session report from the Kotla: "Delhi captain Shikhar Dhawan made the most of his team being sent out into bat by Tamil Nadu, getting to a controlled fifty by lunch on the first day. Delhi reached 100-0 in 31 overs with Dhawan, 55, surviving the only chance Tamil Nadu were to get all morning two balls before lunch. He edged Aushik Srinivas between the keeper and the first slip having crossed his 50 in the previous over. Unmukt Chand was batting on 41 having taken his chances early on his innings, but settling in as Dhawan seized control of the tempo of the scoring.

Once the Delhi openers had seen off the first two hours of play which were expected to most helpful for bowlers, it appeared that Tamil Nadu's fielders were going to spend many hours on the field. The decision by Tamil Nadu to field first depended on the first two hours working for them. Giving Delhi the opportunity to bat first turned out to be a gift; in its last group game at the Kotla versus Baroda, Delhi had won the toss and fielded first. They conceded 561 in that game and failed to win first-innings points as well. If offered the option between batting out the first two hours and standing in the field for two days, the team winning the toss ideally should not have any doubts."

Haryana are 79 for 2 at lunch, against Baroda.

Odisha are 83 for 3 against Karnataka. Niranjan Behera and Biplab Samantaray are batting.

12.05pm Group A scores as first session ends.

Aditya Tare has speeded up, reaching 62*, and Hiken Shah is with him at 58* as Mumbai coast to 121 for 1 against Hyderabad.

Naman Ojha is eyeing another century as MP move along to 118 for 2 against Bengal. Ojha 70*, Bundela 24*.

Gujarat are 89 for 8 against Railways.

11.55am Sid Monga informs me Sandeep's figures of 7 for 25 are the best for the season, beating MP's Anand Rajan's 7 for 77.

Here's are some Group C scores:

Jharkhand 66 for 5 against Himachal, Saurabh Tiwary still in the middle at 66 for 5.

Table-topping Assam are in trouble against Services, sliding to 73 for 4. Suraj Yadav has taken three wickets for Services.

Goa are 74 for 2 against Kerala. IPL hero Manvinder Bisla, who has already hit an 80 and a 90 in his previous two matches for Goa, is in the middle.

J7K are 105 for 4 at lunch v Andhra.

11.50am Injury at the Kotla
Sharda: "R Prasanna was struck on his right knee fielding at silly point off Unmukt Chand and had to be helped off the field by his team-mates."

11.45am Haryana go past 66

That was the score they were shot out for last week in the first innings against Odisha, now they are in the vastly more comfortable position of 67 for 2 against Baroda. Abhimanyu Khod, who played a big hand in making sure Haryana weren't completely outplayed in the previous round, is now in the middle.

11.40am Saurashtra bowled out for 90

Sandeep Sharma has career-best figures of 7 for 25, and Saurashtra have lasted only 27.1 overs. Astonishing, they were 73 for 1 at one stage.

11.35am Saurashtra missing Pujara badly

Their biggest cricketing name, Cheteshwar Pujara, was dismissed just a while ago after a magnificent century in the Mumbai Test against England, and Saurashtra are desperately looking for someone to show that sort of fight in Mohali. They had now flopped to 89 for 8 against Punjab.

11.30am Mumbai have moved along to 74 for 1, Hiken Shah is 48*, Aditya Tare is 25* against Hyderabad.

Odisha have lost their third wicket, they are 64 for 3 against Karnataka in Bangalore.

11.25am Bengal's Shami Ahmed has taken two wickets, but Madhya Pradesh's Naman Ojha, fresh from a century in his previous over, is batting on 39 and one of the most experienced players on the circuit, Devendra Bundela, is on 20*. MP are 80/2.

This is Bundela's 100th Ranji match, and our correspondent Amol Karhadkar caught up with him for an interview. Read this: "I love the game more than the India cap"

11.20am Sanjay Bangar wrecking havoc

Railways totally dominating against Gujarat, as Bangar takes three wickets in his six overs, including that of the only Gujarat batsman to show some fight, Parthiv Patel. Gujarat have slid to 83 for 8, Parthiv gone for 55.

11.15am Punjab dominate again

As one of our readers pointed out, Punjab are the form team this season, miles ahead of the chasing pack after two big wins and a first-innings lead in three matches. Now, they have Saurashtra on the mat at 88 for 6. Ravindra Jadeja is lbw for 5, and the experienced Shitanshu Kotak has fallen for a duck. Much of the damage is being done by India U-19 fast bowler Sandeep Sharma, who already has four wickets in Mohali.

11.10am Jharkhand in trouble

Saurabh Tiwary is trying to hold the innings together after Himachal's quick bowlers have taken five wickets. 22-year-old Rishi Dhawan, who took eight wickets in the previous round, has grabbed three already. Jharkhand 57 for 5.

11.05am Sharda Ugra: "Dinesh Karthik can be heard shouting in Tamil while until now the rallying cry of the Tamil Nadu team to encourage to fast bowler J Kaushik. In the silent stands it ended echoing: "Kau Kau" or rather 'caw caw'."

And Delhi are cutting loose: "Unmukt Chand has just gone after L Balaji in the 20th over, three boundaries - covering a good proportion of his wagon wheel, from mid-on to covers and finally a cut."

10.55am Hiken Shah and Aditya Tare have put on 47 for the second wicket as Mumbai move on to 48 for 1 against Hyderabad.

Here's what the Feroz Shah Kotla looked like just a few minutes before the toss.

10.50am Spectator-watch at the Kotla

The all-seeing Sharda says: "I can actually count nine spectators at the game, six in the stand behind where we are sitting just in front of the Kotla 'hill' to the left of the old club house and three to the hill on the right."

10.45am Parthiv stands tall in Gujarat collapse

It's an amazing scorecard in Bhubaneshwar, where Parthiv Patel seems to be batting on a different pitch to the rest of his team-mates. He's 55* off 58 deliveries, lashing nine boundaries as Gujarat stutter at 66 for 5. Scores of his dismissed team-mates are: 3, 1, 0, 4, 2. Railways' Hardik Rathod and Krishnakant Upadhyay have two wickets each.

10.35am Sharda Ugra has this update from Delhi: "After an hour's play, Delhi are 28-0 in 12 overs; Unmukt Chand is on 14 and Dhawan on 13. it has been a tight morning, fairly decent carry off the wicket and TN's bowlers have bent their backs and attacked… Chand's propensity to play square has been tested and he uppishy drove one from J Kaushik that went past a fair distance past a diving third slip."

And here are the team changes in that game: "Delhi have made two changes: from last match, the legendary Nehra is not playing and in his place has come left arm spinner Vikas Mishra And the under-25 monster run maker Vaibhav Rawal has come in place of Manan Sharma. TN have one change: Arun Karthik for M Vijay (who is with the Indian Test squad in Mumbai)."

Sharda has previewed the game as well. Check it out.

10.20am In Group C, Goa have lost Swapnil Asnodkar early, against Kerala and are 25/1 after 11 overs.

And Jharkhand are in some early strife against Himachal, who have removed three batsmen early. They were 15/3 at one stage, but Saurabh Tiwary has helped them reach 41 for 3 now.

Table-toppers Assam have lost the big wicket of Dheeraj Jadhav early against Services. Assam 34/1.

And in the final game of the group, Jammu and Kashmir are 57/3 against Andhra.

10.05am In Group B, Haryana are batting first in Lahli against Baroda, who are captained by Ambati Rayudu again.

At the Kotla, Delhi have made a patient start against Tamil Nadu, with India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand and Shikhar Dhawan taking the score to 22/0 after 10 overs.

At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Karnataka are off to a superb start after choosing to field against Odisha, who posted their first win in four years in the previous match against Haryana. Both openers have been dismissed, with Vinay Kumar (returning after missing the previous match with injury) and HS Sharath (who had such an impressive debut outing in the previous round against UP) taking a wicket each. Odisha 21/2.

And in the other game of the group, Maharashtra are 31 for 0 against Vidharbha.

9.45am The most dramatic start of the Group A games has been in Bhubaneswar, where the Gujarat top-order has collapsed once more, against Railways this time. Gujarat are 33 for 4, with Parthiv Patel whacking an unbeaten 25 off 27 balls, while the rest of his (dismissed) top-order colleagues have scores of 3, 1, 0 and 4.

In other matches in the group, Mumbai have elected to bat against Hyderabad. Fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni is out with an injury, and Aavishkar Salvi (famous for his McGrath-style action) gets his first first-class game of the season. Big changes in the Hyderabad line-up as well, where their captain in their previous match, DB Ravi Teja, and Arjun Yadav and Ibrahim Khaleel have been dropped. Akshat Reddy will lead the side, and VVS Laxman isn't playing this round as well due to a bad back.

At Indore, Bengal have struck early against Madhya Pradesh after choosing to bowl. Zafar Ali is gone lbw to Shami Ahmed. MP are 26 for 1.

And table-toppers Punjab have taken an early wicket against Saurashtra, with Chirag Pathak being caught-behind. Saurashtra are 49/1 after 12 overs.

9.35am Hello Ranji fans, welcome to another round of the India's (and possibly the world's) largest first-class competition. The marquee match-up of this round is probably Delhi v Tamil Nadu, a match our senior editor Sharda Ugra is covering. Mumbai are back in action after not having a game in the previous round, and the teams sitting out this round are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura.